Chat Vert
by Taurus Pixie
Summary: After her attempts to confess her feelings to Adrien end in disaster, Marinette begins to wonder if it's time to move on. Consequently, she begins drifting towards Luka, and the two quickly form a close bond. However, can Marinette truly move on? And why are both Adrien and Chat Noir suddenly behaving so...strangely?
1. Romantic Master Plan

**Hello everyone and welcome to my new story! This is a small, short idea has been in the works for months and I've finally gotten around to writing and publishing it. I hope that you guys enjoy it. And don't worry, there are no spoilers for the second half of season two in this story. Mainly because I planned this story out before most of the second half of the season came out. So this story is AU in a way, I guess? For the sake of this story, I'm pretending the episode 'Frozer' never happened.**

 **Rated T to be safe.**

 **I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. This is just fanfiction written for fun.**

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 **~ Chat Vert ~**

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 **Chapter 1: Romantic Master Plan**

Today was the day.

Today was the day that Marinette was finally going to tell Adrien how she felt about him.

That was the very first thought that entered Marinette's mind as she twisted around in her bed to reach for her phone and switch her alarm off. As soon as she did this, the nerves began to creep in. It was like someone had reached a hand inside her abdomen and was squeezing her stomach in their vice-like grip. All she wanted to do was hide under her bed covers, her heart fluttering anxiously in her chest as Adrien's face filled her mind.

What on earth was she thinking? She couldn't do this.

Despite the rigid plan that she, Alya and Nino had put in place, there was no doubt in Marinette's mind that something was going to go wrong. It always did. Because despite being blessed with the possession of the ladybug miraculous, the power of creation and good luck, Marinette always found herself to be very much the opposite. She never had good luck, especially where Adrien was concerned. And all she could do was ruin and destroy things.

But she couldn't just not show up. That would look rude and weird. Alya and Nino would never let her live it down, and Marinette would have to live with that eternal embarrassment. She had promised them that this time she wouldn't chicken out. After all, Nino and Alya had been confident that it was Marinette that Adrien had been talking about that day. Heck, even Marinette was sure it was her. Who else could Adrien have been talking about?

However, no matter how much Marinette tried to reassure herself, nothing seemed to be working. Nothing could shift the terrible feeling she felt deep within her gut. Something was bound to go wrong. Maybe she had got it wrong, or maybe she would make a fool of herself, and Adrien would never want to talk to her again because she was such an awkward and embarrassing person to be around. What if she got tongue tied? What if she tripped and accidentally knocked Adrien over, causing him to break his ankle, ruining his modelling career and angering his father, meaning that Adrien would be pulled out of school, and he would blame her for it, and Marinette would never ever see him again?!

Maybe she should call Alya and claim she was sick? Oh, but that would be no use, Alya would see right through her immediately.

"Marinette?" The sweet voice of her kwami, Tikki, called. "Aren't you going to get up? I thought today was the big day?"

In response, Marinette grabbed hold of her pillow and placed it tightly over her head in the small hope that maybe, just maybe, she could suffocate herself. That way, she wouldn't have to face anyone. No such look though, and Marinette could already imagine the smug grin that was appearing on Tikki's face right now. Her little red kwami hadn't exactly been convinced when Marinette vowed that she would not back out this time and actually admit her feelings to Adrien.

"Come on, Marinette," Tikki sighed, her voice growing closer as she floated towards her, "you're supposed to be meeting Alya in the park in around twenty minutes. I thought you said you couldn't risk letting this opportunity pass?"

"I'm not going," Marinette mumbled from under her pillow. Soon enough she could feel Tikki trying to pry the pillow off Marinette's head, but she clung on as tightly as she could, not letting it budge. Her heart was beginning to beat a million miles per hour and she was starting to feel sick. There was no way she could do this. What if she puked all over Adrien out of nervousness? Marinette had never really thought about it before, but there were just so many different things that could go wrong. They obviously hadn't been as thorough in their planning as they had previously thought. Marinette wasn't prepared for every situation.

"What?" Tikki gasped. "You can't chicken out now. You promised."

"I can, and I will," Marinette grumbled.

"But what about the plan? What happened to you saying that this was the best chance you would get to finally admit your feelings for Adrien?"

Marinette sighed and finally came out from under her pillow, sitting up in bed as she hugged it tightly to her chest. The sinking feeling in her stomach still refused to go away, and Marinette took that to be a very bad omen. She usually got nervous, sure, but never _this_ nervous. Her nerves were never accompanied by intense feelings of dread and foreboding. Marinette felt like she was going out into some kind of battle, knowing there was only a small chance that she would come out alive. Which was ironic considering she battled akumas all the time with no issue.

"The plan is stupid and isn't going to work," Marinette groaned, gripping her dark hair.

"But…"

"But nothing Tikki." Marinette could feel herself beginning to panic more and more. "It probably wasn't even me he was talking about."

That stupid conversation she had overheard between Adrien and Nino had been what started this whole thing. Marinette was so confident at first, but now doubt was creeping in and wrapping its dreaded claws around her throat, preventing her from moving or doing anything. All three of them had been convinced that it was Marinette that he had been talking about, but what if it wasn't? What if they had been wrong?

Marinette was starting to wish she had never even overheard the conversation. Why did she have to go into the library at that very moment? Why had she and Alya idiotically hid behind the bookshelf and purposefully listened in? She had only gone and got her hopes up and was probably just going to end up disappointed.

But at the time, Marinette stupidly couldn't resist…

Her heart had fluttered in her chest as she caught sight of Adrien, sitting alone in front of a pile of textbooks in the library. He looked like he wasn't even concentrating on his work as he stared off into space with an almost dreamy expression on his face. That had caught Marinette off guard. Seen as an akuma had just finished attacking, it came as a bit of a shock to see Adrien looking such a way. Had he hit his head or something during the ensuing chaos?

Marinette sincerely hoped not. If that was the case, then she wouldn't be able to stop blaming herself. She should have kept a better eye on things and made sure that no one got hurt. She wanted to approach him, to sit with him, to go over and ask if he was okay. But as always, it was like an invisible wall kept stopping her. As much as she wanted to, her anxiety and shyness always won the battle, and all Marinette could do was remain awkwardly standing by the bookshelves, occasionally peering at Adrien through a small gap, watching as he continued to stare into space.

"Hey, dude, what's got you looking so dreamy?" Nino's sudden appearance made both Adrien and Marinette jump.

Nino gave Adrien a light tap on the shoulder before sitting down next to him and smirking.

"W-what?" Adrien stuttered.

"You were totally in your own little world there, dude," Nino chuckled. "Daydreaming about something or someone in particular?"

"No!" Adrien answered a little too quickly and defensively.

"Hey, girl, what are you doing hanging out back here?" Alya's voice and sudden appearance caused Marinette to jump again. She whipped around quickly to pull Alya towards her and out of sight, making sure that they were both hidden from Adrien and Nino.

"Whoa! Hey! What are you doing?" Alya demanded in shock and confusion, but Marinette quickly pressed her finger against her best friend's lips.

"Ssssh!" Marinette begged, cursing that she had probably missed a good chunk of the conversation now.

"Oh, I see," Alya whispered, smirking, "spying on Adrien again?"

"I do not spy on Adrien!" Marinette hissed in protest.

"Uh huh, and just what exactly do you call what you're doing right now?"

Marinette glared at Alya in response before leaning forward to listen better, peeking through the tiny gap in the bookshelves. Whatever was going on, Nino was looking increasingly smug while Adrien was beginning to look more and more uncomfortable.

"Oh, you can't deny it now, man, you totally have a crush on someone; it's obvious!" Nino teased, poking his best friend in the arm.

Marinette's eyes widened and she instantly turned back around to stare at Alya in shock and fear. Alya too looked just as shocked before shrugging to let Marinette know that she was just as confused. They both leaned closer, fighting to look at what was going on through the small gap. Adrien was rubbing the back of his head awkwardly while Nino seemed to be growing increasingly excited.

"So come on then!" Nino nudged him. "Who is it?"

"No one!" Adrien protested.

"You're a terrible liar, Adrien."

Adrien's face grew increasingly red as he looked down at the table, balling his hands into fists on his lap. The whole time, Marinette could feel her heart trying to escape from her chest, and a tight knot had formed in her throat, making it difficult for her to breathe. Adrien had a crush on someone? Who? Chloé? Someone else? Someone that Marinette didn't know?

At those thoughts, Marinette could feel her heart beginning to crack, as if one more mere whisper would shatter it into a million tiny pieces. Marinette should have known. Why would Adrien ever pay attention to someone like her anyway? Why go with clumsy, unextraordinary Marinette, when he probably had a huge selection of supermodels to choose from? Adrien had always been way out of her league, yet she tried to chase him anyway and allowed herself to have all of these feelings for him.

Marinette fought back tears as she could feel Alya gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It's…it's…embarrassing…" Adrien admitted at last.

"Embarrassing?" Nino repeated in confusion. "There's nothing embarrassing about having a crush on someone."

"It's more than that though, Nino," Adrien sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"What? Oooooh." Nino quickly realised. "You're in loooove!"

"Ssssh!" Adrien begged, clamping a hand over Nino's mouth before looking around. Marinette quickly ducked behind the bookcase again. She wanted to run away right now. To run away back home, lock herself in her room and cry all night. Adrien was in love with someone. And that someone probably wasn't her. It couldn't be.

"Dude, this is big news!" Nino exclaimed once Adrien had released his hold on his mouth. "Who is she?"

Realising that Marinette might finally be able to hear a name, she peered at them through the gap again, her nails digging into the wood of the bookcase. She could feel that Alya was just as tense next to her, her hand still gripping Marinette's shoulder as she too tried to get a better look at what was going on.

"I…I've said too much already," Adrien mumbled, his face turning bright red again.

"Just tell me, man," Nino begged, "I promise not to tell anyone."

"I…I can't…"

Nino thought for a moment. "Is it someone I know?"

Adrien remained silent, and Marinette could see him cringing in on himself.

"It is, isn't it?" Nino gasped.

Again, Adrien didn't say a word.

"No way! At least give me some sort of clue!"

"Well…" Adrien suddenly sounded as dreamy as he looked earlier, "she's very beautiful, both inside and out. She's very smart, and she always puts others before herself. Her hair is all shiny and black, and –" Adrien quickly cut himself off once he realised he was rambling and saying too much.

Marinette felt her heart stop. Black hair? But…the only girl Marinette knew that Adrien knew who had black hair was… _herself._

"He's talking about you, girl!" Alya squealed excitedly in Marinette's ear.

"Really?! I mean…he couldn't be…could he?" Marinette gasped out, losing control of her breathing.

"Yes!" Alya squealed again. "What other girls do we know who have black hair?"

"Errrr…Juleka?"

Alya rolled her eyes. "Her hair is black _and purple._ Besides, she's with Rose."

"L-Ladybug?" Marinette squeaked.

"Now you're just being silly," Alya sighed before getting excited again, "he was totally talking about _you._ Adrien Agreste is _in love with you!"_

Marinette had never felt her heart leap for joy as much as she did in that moment. Could…could this be true? Marinette couldn't help but be in denial, but…she had indeed heard it herself. Adrien Agreste had let slip that he was in love with a girl with black hair. It still could be anyone, but Adrien had pretty much confirmed that it was someone that both he and Nino knew. And the only black haired friend they had in common was…was Marinette.

 _Adrien Agreste was in love with her?!_

"Oh my god," Marinette choked as she turned to look up at Alya in horror, "Alya, what do I do?" Marinette began bouncing on the spot in panic.

"Tell him how you feel?" Alya stated as if it was obvious.

"Are you nuts?!" Marinette shrieked. "I can't do that! I'll get all tongue tied, I'll make a fool of myself and then maybe he won't love me anymore because he realised how much of an awkward, clumsy person I am and –"

Alya rolled her eyes and placed her hands on Marinette's shoulders to stop her from bouncing around.

"Chillax girl, I'll workshop it with you," Alya offered, "we can plan everything down to the last detail. That way we can make sure that nothing goes wrong and that you and Adrien will be together by the end of it. Nino and I will be there to help you every step of the way."

"Really?" Marinette whispered.

Alya nodded.

"Alya, you're the best!" Marinette pulled her best friend into a tight hug, kissing her cheek before squeezing her even tighter.

"N-no problem." Alya gasped for air, finally managing to pull herself free from Marinette's grip to stare at her seriously.

"But seriously, Marinette," Alya said, "you're going to have to commit to this. No chickening out this time. Love is at stake here!"

"Right," Marinette squeaked nervously. "I can do this."

"You can do this," Alya repeated in agreement, smiling proudly at her.

"I'm going to tell Adrien how I feel!" Marinette proclaimed excitedly, starting to giggle in anticipation. "We're finally going to be together!"

And it was from then that Nino and Alya came back to her house every night that week. They spent hours together, trying to formulate the perfect plan. Alya coached her through what she was going to say, giving her a script to memorise while also telling Marinette that she also needed to try and speak from the heart. Nino had often acted as Adrien's stand in which Marinette found a bit weird at times. Nino also promised to try and work on Adrien to get him to confess his feelings as well, but after revealing what he did in the library, Adrien pretty much clamped up after that, refusing to talk about it with Nino.

After the hours and hours of planning, Marinette had gone to bed last night feeling pretty confident. She had memorised everything she was going to say, and this time, she would not stutter…she hoped. She was going to tell him how she felt, and then he was going to admit that he felt the same. Then they would get married, have three children and cute little pet hamster.

But as Marinette laid in bed that night, the doubtful thoughts began to seep in. Its shadow had been leering over her the entire time, but it was only now that Marinette was finally starting to notice it. There were indeed so many things that could go wrong. It was likely going to end in disaster, and Marinette had just been kidding herself this whole time.

"Marinette, I'm sure that it was you," Tikki tried to reassure her. "Remember that poem you found? He was talking about a girl with dark hair and blue eyes then. It has to be you."

"But what if I make a total fool of myself?" Marinette whimpered.

"Adrien loves you for who you are, Marinette. Your clumsiness is what makes you unique and special. No matter what happens, Adrien will still love you, especially if it's true love."

Marinette looked down deep in thought.

"And even if the worst does happen," Tikki continued, "if Adrien says no, at least then you know where you stand with him and you don't have to spend all of this time wondering."

"Adrien could say _no_?" Marinette squeaked in fear.

Tikki groaned and rolled her eyes. "It would be delusional to say that there isn't at least a small chance that could happen, but I'm confident that it was you that he was talking about, Marinette. A girl both he and Nino knew with black hair. I know that you can do this Marinette. This is something that you have wanted to do for almost as long as I've known you."

Marinette sighed before looking up in determination. "You're right, Tikki. This is something I need to get off my chest. And it could lead to us finally being together. I promised myself that I would do this."

"That's the spirit, Marinette!" Tikki cheered. "But – ummm – you might want to get going."

Marinette picked up her phone and glanced at the time. "Oh no! I'm running late!" She shrieked. At that, Marinette leapt out of bed as fast as she possibly could. She began brushing her teeth as she attempted to get dressed, unknowingly spilling toothpaste down her shirt as she pulled it over her head. She brushed her hair as she tried to pull on her jacket, while all Tikki could do was watch hopelessly. The whole time, Marinette kept trying to go over what she was going to say in her head, her mind suddenly going completely blank like it would often do before an important test.

 _Adrien, I've been watching you for a while and…_ no, too creepy.

 _Every time I see you, my heart skips a beat…_ too cheesy.

What were those perfect words that Marinette had come up with?

Oh no.

This was already a total disaster. She had already forgotten everything. She didn't even have time to get ready properly, and Marinette began to freak out even more, her hand shaking as she tried to do her eyeliner, creating ugly squiggly lines that were not even, nor match the other eye. Marinette groaned to herself and tried in vain to even them out as best as she could, finally giving up as Alya sent her a text to ask her where she was.

Panicking, Marinette forgot about trying to properly get ready, and instead just grabbed her phone, shoved it in her purse and began running out the door. Tikki quickly followed, hiding inside Marinette's purse just in time before she made it downstairs. Her parents were eating breakfast in the kitchen and looked startled by how terror-stricken their daughter looked in that moment.

"I'm meeting Alya in the park, I'll see you later," Marinette said breathlessly, giving her startled and confused parents quick kisses on the cheeks before she ran out the front door. In her haste, Marinette nearly tripped and fell down the stairs, but luckily she caught herself just in time.

Today was supposed to be the day she told Adrien how she felt. And she was already off to a _great_ start.

Marinette just hoped that nothing else would go wrong.

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 **Hmmmm. Way to jinx yourself, Marinette. Well, that was the first chapter. Please feel free to me know your thoughts and opinions in a review. It always really helps me out. See you all again soon.**


	2. A Broken Heart

**I'm back! I really do apologise about the long wait for this chapter. Chapters won't typically take this long to be released, I've just been busy working on another story, then after the stress of that, I decided to take a short break to help give my brain some much needed rest, because the way I was feeling, there was just no way that I could write. But I'm back now, and updates should usually take no longer than two weeks. I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year to those that celebrate, and I hope that you're all doing okay.**

 **Thank you so much for all of your amazing reviews on the first chapter. Also, thank you to those who have followed this story and added it to your favourites. It makes me so happy to see that so many people are interested in this story, and it inspires me to keep going.**

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 **Chapter 2: A Broken Heart**

Sweaty and out of breath, Marinette finally made it into the park, her heart thudding in her chest from both panic, and from her sprint over here. As she ran through the entrance, she placed her hands on her aching knees in an attempt to catch her breath. She had never run so fast in all her life. Her lungs were burning and protesting, and Marinette began to panic even more at the thought of the gross mess she probably was right now.

What was Adrien going to think of her? He was probably going to think she was even more weird than he likely originally thought. The plan was already sliding downhill so fast. She was late, she was a mess, she was out of breath, and everything was probably ruined now. She had wanted to look her best for this magical moment. She had wanted this moment to be amazing and special; a moment she could remember happily forever.

The moment she and Adrien finally got together.

Fat chance of that happening now.

"There you are! Where on earth have you been?!" Alya's yelling startled Marinette.

Marinette rapidly looked around, unable to catch any sight of Alya. Confused, Marinette tried to look in the direction her best friend's voice had come from, but there appeared to be no sign of her. That's when Marinette looked down just in time to see a pair of hazel eyes staring at her from inside a large bush before a hand reached towards her. Marinette yelped as she was suddenly tugged into the bush alongside Alya who began frantically checking her phone.

Meanwhile, Marinette tried to catch her breath and smooth out her clothes, ready for the moment. Though what Alya was doing hiding in a bush, Marinette wasn't sure. She didn't remember that being part of the plan. She was sure that the plan was for Alya to meet her by the entrance, and that they were both going to pretend to casually stroll through the park, bumping into Adrien and Nino halfway through who were going to use the other entrance. Alya and Nino were then going to make their excuses and head off, leaving Marinette and Adrien alone under the romantic, spring blossoms. Then Marinette would make her move.

Oh no.

Did this mean that something else had gone wrong? Was Marinette too late and had missed her opportunity? Had Nino and Adrien already walked by and now Alya and Nino were trying to fix the situation?

Marinette knew that she had a bad feeling as soon as she woke up. This whole thing was a total disaster and she never should have agreed to it! What had she been thinking with this complicated plan?! Something was bound to go wrong! The plan had been doomed since the start!

"Marinette, are you okay?" Alya's concerned voice pulled Marinette out of her thoughts. "You've gone really pale all of a sudden."

"I…" Marinette squeaked. "I've blown it, haven't I?"

Alya's eyes widened. "No, no, no," she quickly reassured, "though you would have if Adrien and Nino had arrived on time," she quickly mumbled that last part.

"What?!" Marinette shrieked.

"Sssssh!" Alya shushed.

Both of them looked up just in time to see a mother walking past them with two children. Alya and Marinette froze as the woman gave them a strange look, freaked out by the two girls hiding in the bush. Not knowing what to do, Marinette awkwardly waved before the woman glared at them, grabbed her children, and quickly pulled them away.

Marinette and Alya both sighed, and Marinette was thankful that it was a total stranger that had spotted them in this strange situation rather than Adrien.

Speaking of Adrien…

"Adrien and Nino aren't here yet?" Marinette whispered in shock and panic. "What's going on?"

Alya rolled her eyes. "Adrien's father was being awkward with him, so they ended up leaving later than anticipated, but don't worry, they're on their way right now."

"So I haven't blown it?"

"You haven't blown it." Alya smiled at her reassuringly.

"I still don't know if I can do this." Marinette gulped, and Alya sighed in frustration.

"Yes you can, girl! Just stick to the plan and tell him how you feel. We already know he has feelings for you, so he's not exactly going to say no, is he?"

"But what if he does? What if we've got this all wrong?"

Alya placed a comforting hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Stop doubting yourself. You can't keep going through life like this, otherwise you'll never get anywhere. Sometimes you just need to swallow your fears and take the plunge, dive head first into terrifying moments in order to get what you want out of life. And what _you_ want is Adrien. So dive head first in there and get him, girl!"

"You really think I can do this?" Marinette asked, feeling her confidence growing at Alya's words.

"I know so."

"Oh Alya, thank you!" Marinette squealed as she pulled her best friend into a tight hug, almost squeezing the air out of her.

"What are best friends for?" Alya wheezed before gasping for air when Marinette finally let her go, frowning as her appearance finally registered with her.

"But first," Alya continued, "we're going to have to fix you up."

"Oh," Marinette responded worriedly as she remembered how awful she must look right now.

"But it's okay," Alya explained as she dug through her bag and pulled out a handful of make-up, "I came prepared for every situation. We have a few minutes before Nino and Adrien arrive, so I have plenty of time to fix your face."

"Thanks…I think?"

Alya smirked and rolled her eyes before grabbing a wipe and cleaning Marinette's face of the mess she had made earlier that morning. It made Marinette feel incredibly childish, once again filling her mind with doubt over whether she was ready for this huge, life changing moment. However, she kept repeating Alya's words in her mind to try and drown out any nerves that she might have over what she was about to do.

Because Alya was right. Marinette needed to do this or she would forever regret it. She had just been presented with a once in a life time opportunity. It looked like Adrien did indeed have feelings for her. Despite the doubt gnawing away at every inch of her flesh, Marinette knew that surely Adrien could have only been talking about her. Nino and Alya seemed so sure as well, which only served to further cement the theory as fact in Marinette's mind.

She could do this! She could tell Adrien how she felt!

If she did this, she might finally get to be with the boy of her dreams. They could be boyfriend and girlfriend! They could hold hands, they could embrace, they could… _kiss!_

Marinette could finally have her first kiss with the boy she had always dreamed of being with. Well…technically her first kiss was Chat Noir, but she didn't count that. She was just trying to save his life; it didn't mean anything.

This would be different. This time she would be kissing someone out of love. Marinette could feel her heart lurch in her chest as she wondered if today might be the day that they kissed. What if when she confessed everything, Adrien would be so happy and beyond words that he would just simply take her into his arms and kiss her?! It would be so romantic, but Marinette tried not to get her hopes up.

Adrien might end up being a total gentleman and want to take things slow. He might want to take her out on cute dates and get to know her a bit better before they did anything like that. He might want to wait for a more romantic moment, like when they would go out to have dinner together, or he might even wait until they were having a cosy night in, playing Mecha Strike III together.

Butterflies fluttered around Marinette's stomach at the mere thoughts. Then after all of this, they could get married, own a nice house, have three kids, have a dog and ca – no wait – a hamster! They would have such the cutest pet hamster, and they would name it –

"If you don't stop bouncing around I'm going to end up poking you in the eye with my mascara," Alya warned, half joking, half serious.

"S-sorry, I…I'm just nervous."

Alya remained silent for a few seconds, not breaking her concentration as she spoke again. "You were fantasising about marrying him and getting a hamster again, weren't you?"

"What? Pffft, no!"

Alya raised an eyebrow at her, smirking.

"Okay, I totally was," Marinette quickly admitted, looking away in embarrassment. It seemed like Alya could always see right through her.

"Uh huh," Alya teased, before growing more serious. "Seriously, girl, try not to get too ahead of yourself today. Just focus on confessing your feelings, then maybe we'll worry about marriage in ten years' time or something."

"I guess you're right." Marinette sighed before taking a deep breath to try and clear her mind.

Alya then paused for a second. "But I am going to be your maid of honour, right?"

Marinette giggled before nodding.

"Yes!" Alay exclaimed before getting back to work, putting her mascara away before bringing her eye-liner out, this time applying more even and tidy looking lines across Marinette's eyelids, making her blue eyes stand out beautifully.

"Now, time for the lipstick," Alya announced, pulling out a darker colour that Marinette would often never use. She preferred to stick with more natural colours, so to have Alya pull out a colour that would look a lot more obvious on her had her feeling slightly nervous and uncomfortable.

What if Adrien thought that she was trying too hard? What if he thought she looked desperate or that she was trying to look way older than she was? What if he didn't like it? What if he preferred the colours that Marinette normally used? What if it made her stand out too much? What if somebody else she knew saw her and ended up laughing at her?

"Ummm…I'm not sure…" Marinette stared at the tube nervously.

"Oh relax, Marinette, it'll look great on you. Plus, it's flavoured, just in case you get any action." Alya winked.

"Alya!" Marinette shrieked, her cheeks turning bright red. She had just managed to calm herself down over that idea, and now Alya had just reminded her that she and Adrien might end up kissing at some point today.

Her stomach exploded into a fireball of intense anxiety, fuelled by the images of every possible route that today could take. Alya took full advantage of Marinette's frozen state and began applying the lipstick, leaving no room for Marinette to protest. Though Marinette knew better than to fight against Alya most of the time. She knew that Alya would always win.

However, Marinette had to admit that she was starting to feel much better in herself. Now that she looked less like a swamp creature, she was growing more confident that she could pull this off. Maybe Adrien arriving late was a blessing in disguise. It meant that she hadn't missed him while still providing her with time to make herself look more presentable. Marinette now had no idea what she had been freaking out over in the first place.

She was still nervous, but she just kept telling herself that it was only natural. She was about to confess her feelings to the love of her life after all. The plan had originally gone so wrong, but now everything was being fixed. It looked like the universe was finally allowing things to go Marinette's way. It was finally giving Marinette a break. She felt like she could conquer anything. What could possibly go wrong now?

Marinette's deep thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of Alya's phone vibrating. She sighed and picked up before gasping, her eyes widening in horror. Marinette could feel her heart instantly leap into her throat at the sight of Alya's expression.

What had happened?!

Marinette just had to go and jinx herself again!

"Wha –"

Before Marinette had time to ask what was going on, Alya had shushed her before placing a hand over her mouth and tackling her further to the ground. They lay low in the middle of the bush, just barely able to see through the gap that Alya had originally pulled her through. However, Marinette couldn't see or hear anything, so why was Alya doing this? What exactly was wrong?

"Y'know Nino, you're behaving very weirdly today," a familiar voice said.

Both Alya and Marinette immediately locked themselves in place, eyes wide in terror.

"What's so weird about wanting to use the other entrance?" Nino chuckled awkwardly.

"Because it's on the other side of the park," Adrien replied, sounding concerned, yet wary. "Are you up to something?"

"Me? What? No!"

"Because now that I think about it, you've been acting really weird for the past few days, let alone today," Adrien noted, frowning at his best friend suspiciously.

"I…I just thought we could do with the exercise?"

Marinette could see Nino frantically looked around while Adrien wasn't looking, probably because he was trying to see if he could spot her and Alya anywhere. Alya tried to wave to get his attention, however, Nino didn't notice them, and frustratingly turned his back on the bush that the two girls were hiding in.

Alya slammed her fist on the ground before trying to reach for her phone, but it was just out of her reach. She attempted to shift forward, but that caused a few of the leaves to rustle, making her freeze in place again, terrified in case Adrien turned around and saw them there.

Marinette held her breath, tears of fear and frustration welling up in her eyes as she stared at Adrien above her. They really should have planned this out better. Why did everything keep going wrong? Maybe this plan was just destined not to work. The three of them were stupid to try and come up with something this convoluted in the first place.

"Do you think here's a good spot to hang out?" Adrien asked as he stared down at the ground. "The grass seems nice and dry here."

"Oh – ummm – yeah, I guess," Nino said, pulling his phone out to check it again, frowning in confusion and worry, probably over the fact that Alya hadn't yet managed to reply to his message.

Marinette and Alya both exchange terrified glances as both Adrien and Nino sat down in front of the bush that they were both hiding in. Both of their backs were facing them, and Alya slammed her face against the ground in frustration which only caused Marinette to panic even more. She clung to her best friend, not sure of what to do. If they made any sudden movements now, they would both likely be spotted. How on earth were they going to explain this if they got caught? Adrien would be creeped out by this whole thing for sure. This was even more mortifying than the time he saw all of those photos of him in Marinette's room on TV.

"So…" Nino began awkwardly, "that was some akuma attack the other day. Luckily Ladybug and Chat Noir will always be there to save us."

"Yeah." Adrien sighed dreamily, sounding distracted.

"There you go again!" Nino exclaimed, startling Adrien out of his obvious daydreaming.

"Huh, what?"

"Whoa, dude, you've got it baaaaad!" Nino playfully elbowed him.

Adrien shook his head. "I told you, I don't want to talk about it."

"Well…if you talked to me, then maybe I can help you. It's obviously someone that I know, otherwise why would it be such a big secret?"

Marinette watched, her heart pounding away in her chest as Adrien shifted nervously, suddenly seeming very interesting in the grass all of a sudden. She could just about make out the light shade of pink that was staining his cheeks. She could feel her own cheeks growing warm at being in such close proximity with him. Now she was never going to be able to focus on an escape plan.

"I don't want to talk about it," Adrien repeated, sounding miserable. "Besides, I probably don't stand a chance with her."

"What?!" Nino shrieked before laughing. "Dude, I know that Marinette would be totally psyched to go out with you. Why – oops."

Marinette's heart thudded to a halt in her chest, and Alya glared furiously at the back of Nino's head, looking like she was ready to commit murder. However, Marinette waited with bated breath, waiting to see what Adrien would say to Nino having guessed who he had a crush on.

"Marinette?" Adrien repeated in confusion.

Nino sighed, knowing he had no choice but to admit it now. "Dude, it's obvious she's the girl you have a crush on."

Adrien's eyes widened. "What? No, Marinette is just a friend."

In that moment, Marinette felt like the entire world froze to a standstill. There was not even a trace of the morning, spring breeze as she dug her nails into the dirt, feeling like a hand had reached inside her chest and ripped her heart out right in front of her. Her chest now felt completely hollow and empty while she was left to bleed out onto the ground. The worst part was, Marinette didn't even feel any pain yet. She just felt numb. Her blood turned cold, filling her body with ice that sent a tingling sensation throughout her entire body.

Suddenly, it was like nothing felt real to Marinette anymore. It was like she had woken up in the wrong universe where she felt like she didn't belong. Like none of this mattered because it was just some dream – a terrible nightmare. At any moment, Marinette expected to wake up. She would be back in her room, and none of this would be happening. Her heart would be back in her chest and not pulsating on the ground in front of her while all Marinette could do was watch as it shrivelled up and stopped beating before her very eyes.

Despite the icy coldness of her body, her eyes began to burn. They burned with betrayed and heartbroken tears that were desperate to be unleashed. A huge lump formed in her throat, and she began to feel like she was drowning. Marinette was no longer at the park on a warm spring day, but rather she was sinking in a freezing ocean, surrounded by nothing but a dark void that dragged her deeper and deeper below the surface.

Alya's comforting arm that was wrapped around her felt like nothing more than a snake that was just trying to pin her under the water and drown her faster, trapping her within its coils. Marinette needed to get away. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. Her chest constricted painfully as she gasped for air, and sobs banged and slammed their fists against her ribcage, begging to be let free.

"Then…?" Nino questioned, his eyes wide in horror. "Who…who is it? Because I don't know anyone else with black hair."

Adrien looked like he was beginning to panic. "Errrr…ummm…K-Kagami?"

Now it felt like Marinette was being repeatedly kicked in the stomach. This could not be happening. She'd had her insecurities about Kagami when they had first met, but now to have them actually confirmed only fuelled Mariette's despair.

But then again, why should Marinette even be surprised? Kagami was so much more amazing than Marinette could ever be. Kagami was incredibly beautiful, amazingly talented, rich, and came from a well-respected family. Of course she was perfect for Adrien in every way. She would have something to offer Adrien. Kagami and Adrien were within the same league, while Marinette was a lowly peasant at the bottom of the food chain. What could a baker's daughter offer someone like Adrien Agreste?

Marinette had been a complete and total fool.

"Kagami?" Nino questioned, shocked and confused.

"Errrr, yeah. Y'know, that girl in my fencing class." Adrien laughed nervously.

"I see…" Nino glanced down, looking terrified.

Marinette felt like an elephant had just sat on her chest. She was now lost in the middle of a jungle, being crushed to death by one of the giant creatures. She couldn't call for help. She couldn't move. The longer she laid there, the more she felt the life being squeezed out of her. Marinette knew that she needed to get out of there. She couldn't listen to any of this for a second longer.

It was all too much.

Her heart couldn't take it.

Alya seemed to sense this, and she searched the ground, finally able to find a small pebble before throwing it at Nino's back while Adrien was busy looking the other way. Startled, Nino quickly glanced backwards before a look of horror washed over his face at the sight of Alya and Marinette laying down behind them. Marinette instantly knew that he had figured out that they had overheard everything. Marinette knew that she must look like a mess right now, as Nino's face instantly turned sympathetic at the sight of her.

However, Alya quickly recaptured his attention, motioning for him to take Adrien away. Nino nodded, immediately understanding, causing Alya to let out a breath of relief. She kept an arm wrapped tightly around Marinette, attempting to rub soothing circles into her arm, but all Marinette could concentrate on was the pain that was suddenly engulfing her. It was like she had just been run over by a bus, the wheels driving directly over her chest and crushing it, bursting her heart in the process and causing her to bleed out.

"Hey, dude, what do you say we get some lunch?" Nino asked.

"Isn't it a bit early?"

"Yeah, but I'm hungry." Nino was already stood up and attempting to pull Adrien up with him.

All Adrien could do was wordlessly follow, a look of confusion on his face as Nino led them both away. Alya sighed with relief when they finally disappeared before she turned towards Marinette, looking concerned. However, all Marinette could do was stare straight ahead with a blank expression. Her body felt like it was on autopilot as she slowly sat up and crawled out of the bush, back out into the open.

Now Marinette felt completely exposed. At any moment, the vultures would swoop in and start picking at her corpse. She would lay there, trapped inside her own mind, powerless to stop them from consuming her flesh. Powerless to stop them from poking their beaks inside her chest and digging out the broken pieces of her heart. Maybe she should just let them have it. After all, she had no one else to give it to. The one person who Marinette ever thought her heart could belong to didn't want it. Now the organ simply caused her nothing but pain and agony.

She didn't want it anymore. It belonged to Adrien. It didn't even fit properly inside her own body. It didn't want to be a part of her anymore. The broken remnants wanted nothing more than to leap out of her chest and chase after Adrien.

But what would be the point?

He didn't want it.

He was in love with someone else.

"Marinette…" Alya asked, sounding incredibly worried.

"I…I'm fine…I just…I need to be alone," Marinette replied flatly.

"I don't think that's wise –" Alya tried to protest, however, she was quickly cut off.

"I SAID I JUST WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE!" Marinette's sobs finally burst free, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Before she could control herself, Marinette fled, not even giving Alya a chance to register what was going on. Marinette ran as fast as she could, her tears blurring her vision, preventing her from seeing where she was going. But Marinette didn't care. All she knew was that she needed to run. She needed to try and escape this pain.

Finally, Marinette couldn't run any further, and she collapsed against the trunk of a huge oak tree. There appeared to be no one around, and Marinette finally unleashed all of the pent up emotions inside her. The tears just kept on coming, and the sobs just kept on breaking free, both of them showing no signs of letting up any time soon.

Feeling defeated, lost, and hopeless, Marinette slid down the trunk of the tree until she was curled up into a tight ball on the ground, wishing that it would just swallow her up. She didn't think she had ever felt so stupid and humiliated. The pain continued to claw at her body, tearing her to shreds. It was like she was being devoured by ravenous wild animals, and Marinette was completely powerless to stop it.

All she could do was remain curled up in her tight ball, hiding herself from the world, trying her best to nurse the giant hole that had been left in her chest. All the while, Marinette remained completely oblivious over the dark purple butterfly flying towards her.

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 **Oh no! What's going to happen next, guys? As always, please feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review as it always helps me out immensely. I hope that you all have a good week, and I'll see you again soon.**


	3. Under The Oak Tree

**Hmmm, looks like me trying to update this story at least every two weeks hasn't gotten off to the best start. But I am hoping to try and write a load of chapters of this story in advance soon, so hopefully there will be no more large gaps between updates. If you keep up with my blog, you probably already know how weird and chaotic things have been for me lately. But thank you so much for your patience, and thank you for all of your amazing reviews! I always really appreciate feedback!**

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 **Chapter 3: Under The Oak Tree**

As Marinette remained curled up beneath the tree, it still felt like her insides were being ripped out of her. But the shade of the tree helped Marinette feel a little bit more sheltered from the world. She kept her face hidden behind her arms and knees as she remained curled up in a foetal position, wishing that the tree she was leaning against would just swallow her up. But of course, Marinette had no such luck.

That thought just seemed to send Marinette over the edge even more. She could feel her sorrow, her heartbreak, building up inside her, completely consuming her like she had become possessed. There was no light, no happiness, left within her. It was like Adrien had just dragged her through the river Styx, draining all the hope out of her before abandoning her in a dreary land of nothing but cold emptiness.

She was trapped on a dirt island in the middle of the vast grey river. Alone. Just like she was obviously destined to be. Because if she couldn't be with Adrien, then what or who else was there? He was the love of her life. She was so sure that they were soulmates. That they would get married one day and live in a nice house with three kids, a dog, and a hamster.

That dream was now shrinking and getting further and further away before Marinette's eyes, until it disappeared completely. She had just been fooling herself. She honestly didn't blame Adrien. Why would a handsome, kind, amazing person like Adrien want someone like Marinette anyway? She was just nobody. Marinette had never been particularly unhappy with herself, but she knew deep down that Adrien was always way out of her league.

Why should she have expected today to go any differently? She had the bad, gut feeling. She should have listened to it. Now she felt utterly humiliated. Nino and Alya would pity her. Everyone at school would laugh at how pathetic Marinette's crush was. Did they all know? Did they all know that Adrien really had feelings for Kagami? How stupid must have Marinette looked all this time?

At the thought of Kagami, Marinette began to sob harder, the tears never seeming to end, gushing down her cheeks like two eternal waterfalls. Marinette did her best to muffle her cries though. The last thing that she wanted was someone coming over to see what was going on. Right now, Marinette wanted nothing more than to be left alone. To wallow in her own misery and never have to face anyone. She was embarrassed. She was humiliated. She had been deluded. She…had lost all hope.

Feeling her heart pulsating painfully in her chest, Marinette could have sworn that she heard the sound of something fluttering next to her ear. She was just about to swat what she guessed was an insect away from her head when she suddenly froze as the air began to vibrate slightly around her. The unmistakable sound of guitar music began to fill her ears, and Marinette's head quickly snapped up in confusion, her feelings of hopelessness and heartbreak momentarily forgotten as the peaceful and calming melody carried them away and banished them.

Marinette gasped and began looking around worriedly as what ever had been flying around her head had suddenly vanished. However, the sound of the soothing music continued, sounding almost like it was coming from behind her. This caused Marinette to freeze in fear. Someone was nearby. Had they heard her? Marinette could already feel heat filling her already flushed cheeks as a result of that thought.

Holding her breath, Marinette began to slowly crawl around to peek around the trunk of the tree. She saw the neck of the guitar before anything else. So someone _was_ sitting behind her. How long had they been there? Had they heard her crying? Marinette let out a low gasp of horror at the thought. However, it wasn't long before the person sitting on the other side of the tree shifted their weight, and Marinette finally managed to catch a glimpse of them. Her pulsating heart froze at the sight of thick black and blue hair.

No…

It…it couldn't be…

The music continued to play, however, Marinette could no longer fully enjoy its beauty. All she could think about was the horror she would experience if Luka noticed she was here right now. He hadn't said anything, so maybe that definitely meant that he didn't know that she was there. She could only hope anyway. Maybe while he was distracted playing his guitar, it would provide Marinette with the perfect opportunity to quietly slip away.

Biting her lip, Marinette very slowly and quietly rose to her feet and began to tip-toe away. So far, so good, she thought to herself, her eyes now dry and stinging from all the crying she had been doing. She just needed to make it home. Then she could collapse onto her bed and continue to cry into the night. She just needed to slip away from Luka, and maybe try and avoid being spotted by Alya if her best friend was still here looking for her.

Focusing all of her attention straight ahead, it wasn't long before her foot collided with something hard that was sticking out of the ground. Marinette yelped as she tripped over one of the roots of the tree, falling flat on her face into the grass. The sound of guitar music abruptly stopped, and Marinette just remained laying on the ground, defeated.

"Are you okay?" asked the soft, low voice of Luka.

Marinette could now sense that he was next to her, but still, she remained frozen on the ground. This could not be happening to her right now. The day just seemed to keep getting worse and worse. Not only had she embarrassed herself in front of all of her friends and gotten her heart broken, but now she had embarrassed herself in front of Luka too. Marinette dreaded to think what Luka must think of her right now.

"I-I'm fine," Marinette mumbled into the dirt, still not moving. She longed for nothing more than to press her face further down into the ground in the hopes that she could just bury her head there and never have to come up.

"Let me help you," Luka offered, and Marinette instantly felt large, warm hands wrap around her arms and attempt to hoist her up.

The electric shock that his touch sent through her startled her back into reality, and Marinette quickly jumped back up, pulling her arms out of his grasp. Their blue eyes met, both of them looking slightly startled. Marinette took a step back, words becoming stuck in her throat as she once again found herself struggling to speak to him. There was probably nothing that she could do to save the situation anyway. He probably already thought that she was crazy.

"I didn't mean to startle you," Luka tried to reassure her as he picked up his guitar and pulled the strap over his shoulder again. "You just seemed so upset that I thought maybe some music would help."

"You heard that?" Marinette's face turned bright red and she quickly looked away, biting down on her lip in horror and frustration.

"Sorry," Luka apologised awkwardly. "I was already sat there when I heard you sit at the other side of the tree and begin to cry. I didn't want to say anything as I knew words wouldn't help someone who sounded as sad as you did, but I know that music is a language that can soothe a tortured soul."

Marinette couldn't help but feel touched. He had played that song for _her._ He knew that she wouldn't want to be bombarded by words of comfort, for no words ever could suffice. His plan certainly had worked, for Marinette instantly remembered the calming effect his music had suddenly had on her. As always, Luka seemed to have known just the right music to play that spoke to her. Once again, Luka had chased away some of her negative feelings, just like the first time she had met him.

Luka seemed to misinterpret her silence as he clutched onto his guitar tighter and looked down as he began to angle himself to leave.

"I'm sorry, I guess you probably want to be left alone," Luka mumbled as he began to make the first step to walk away.

"No!" Marinette cried out a little too loudly before grabbing hold of his arm, her cheeks turning pink upon seeing Luka smiling down at her, and she quickly pulled her hand away out of embarrassment. "I…ummm…" Marinette froze, all of her words and thoughts becoming jumbled up inside her head.

Luka watched her, waiting patiently.

"I-I'll go, y-you were here first," Marinette stuttered, feeling her hands getting clammy as she continued to make a fool out of herself.

Luka chuckled as he sat back down under the tree, closing his eyes as he began to strum his guitar again, playing random, quiet tunes. Marinette couldn't help but remain frozen on the spot, completely transfixed by him like she had been those few weeks ago when she had first met him. There was such a comforting air around Luka, and it had Marinette instantly feeling a little less panicky about how she was acting right now. He didn't seem to mind. He never seemed startled or phased by her behaviour. He always calmly accepted her, never looking confused or worried or panicked.

It didn't matter to him that he had just heard her bawling her eyes out. It didn't matter to him that she probably looked like a complete crazy mess right now. Despite not knowing her that well, he had still tried to help her. He seemed to immediately know and respect just how hurt she was. He didn't tell her to calm down and that things would quickly get better. Instead, he played for her, hoping to soothe her pain and make it easier to ride out.

He truly was one of the sweetest people Marinette had ever met.

However, Marinette was soon snapped out of her thoughts by Luka gently tapping the spot on the grass next to him, a silent invitation. He never once opened his eyes and immediately went back to playing random tunes. But Marinette wasn't sure what to do. She wanted to be alone right now. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. Yet…Luka already had...and he was still more than happy to have her sit by him.

Biting her lip and wiping her cheeks of any tear stains, Marinette silently accepted his invitation and sat down next to him, crossing her legs and staring down at the grass sadly. She had no idea why she had accepted his invitation. Maybe it was just nice to sit with someone who was so understanding and didn't push her. Maybe Marinette had wanted the comfort more than she realised.

As much as she loved her other friends, she already knew what they were going to say. She didn't want to hear the cliché words of comfort right now. She just wanted to be free to sit in silence and just think and process what had just happened. She wanted to give in to the feelings of heartbreak, because no amount of words, no matter how strong they were, could ever help hold the pieces of her shattered heart together. Luka seemed to just automatically understand that.

Maybe that was why her body had seemed to make the decision for her to stay with him. It knew that she needed a comforting presence without them smothering her. Luka was simply letting her sit with him, sharing his tree that was currently hiding them both from the world. He was offering a refuge that Marinette so desperately needed right now. If she went home, there would be pictures of Adrien all over her wall reminding her, and Marinette wasn't sure if she could face that right now. Sitting under the oak tree provided her a safe little nest, away from the world. A world that seemed to be conspiring against her, to hurt her as much as it possibly could.

Feeling safe enough to nurse her heart, and feeling a bit calmer than she had done a few minutes ago, Marinette couldn't help but peer up at Luka slightly from under her eyelashes. His eyes were still closed, completely lost in his own music. He sat there in silence, just allowing Marinette to be alone with her own thoughts.

"T-thank you," Marinette finally broke the silence between them.

Luka's eyes slowly opened before he smiled and closed them again. "What for?"

"For…for letting me stay," Marinette replied, unable to bring herself to say anymore as she could feel a lump once again forming in her throat as well as tears stinging the corners of her eyes.

He was being so nice to her. At that moment, it didn't feel like Marinette deserved such a thing.

"I figured the tree was big enough for us to share." Luka chuckled without breaking his concentration. "Besides, you seem to need it more than I do."

"I'm sorry!" Marinette yelled all of a sudden, causing Luka to stop playing his guitar and turn to look at her with a slightly curious expression. However, Marinette did her best to ignore it, and squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she began pulled on her hair, curling into the tightest ball possible.

"I've probably ruined your afternoon. Here you were just trying to find some peace and quiet to play your guitar and I come storming in blubbering and crying, interrupting what you were doing, and now I'm probably annoying you, aren't I?" Marinette babbled.

"No, not at all." Luka's voice remained soft and patient as he went back to playing again. "I wasn't doing anything of particular importance, and even if I was, I still wouldn't mind. Especially since you seem so upset. If everyone stopped viewing those that are hurting and suffering as an inconvenience, then the world would be a much better place."

Marinette blinked before wiping away a stray tear that had leaked free.

"That's really nice, Luka," Marinette whispered, glancing down at the wild daisies that grew in patches among the grass.

She absentmindedly began picking at a few of them, anything she could do to distract herself and keep herself from bursting into tears again. It didn't work though as she could feel her chest heaving again as her sobs tried to desperately claw their way out. Before Marinette could even properly register what was happening, the tears burst free again, and her heart went back to tearing itself to shreds. She _was_ hurting. She was hurting more than it ever felt possible.

Images of Adrien's face continued to assault her mind. Images of Adrien and Kagami together. Holding hands, talking together, laughing together. She was perfect for him. In her visions, they made such a lovely, cute couple. Their noble families would approve. They were a match made in heaven. Marinette wanted to be happy for them, but at the same time, it didn't stop the raging jealousy and pain from screaming and wailing within her.

She should have known. Why did she have to delude herself? It was her own fault she was in this mess.

Once again, Marinette thought she could hear the sound of fluttering right before soothing music began to play next to her again. It sounded almost like the music Luka had created for her when they had first met, only it now had a lot more detail to it and lasted much longer, before he looped back around and started again. He kept playing, and Marinette's sobs began to die down until she slowly peeked back up at Luka again.

He was concentrating on the strings of his guitar before he looked down at Marinette and smiled softly at her. Marinette's cheeks grew warm, and she quickly looked away again, instead concentrating on the music. How was it possible that every note sounded so relatable? How was Luka so easily able to capture her longing and pain when he wasn't experiencing it for himself?

But it wasn't long before the music began to change, morphing into something much more calming that had Marinette almost relaxing against the trunk of the tree. She slowly uncurled from her ball and stretched out, though she still felt tiny compared to Luka. Her head lolled back and she closed her eyes, beginning to smile slightly as she allowed herself to get lost in the music.

She imagined that she was in the middle of a vast field, far away from the city. Wildflowers grew all around her, and the sky was an infinite blue, stretching out ahead of her for miles and miles. There was not a cloud in sight, and a slight breeze took away some of the intensity of the warmth of the sun. It was so peaceful, so tranquil, to a point where Marinette almost began to forget about the pain. She could just be alone. Just enjoy being at peace. She had nothing to prove to anyone, nothing to worry about, and didn't have to worry about how she might look. She could dance through the field, and run, and laugh, brushing her fingers over the tall flowers and grass as she did so.

The final note hung in the air, the field before Marinette slowly evaporated, and she was once again staring up at the deep green leaves of the oak tree she was sitting under. Tears still stained her cheeks, however, they were no longer cascading out of her eyes. Her sobs had quietened, and her body felt much more relaxed. The pain was still there, throbbing and pulsating just as much as it had been before, but now Marinette was beginning to feel like she had the confidence to face it. That maybe there was hope that it could one day subside. That there was peace, beauty and kindness out there. The world wasn't just one big horrible place.

"I still don't know how you do that." Marinette found herself sighing.

"Music can often express thoughts and emotions that words can't," Luka explained.

"It was like," Marinette tried to explain, "you could understand what I was feeling, even though you have no idea what's wrong with me or what happened. It was like you knew exactly what image to paint in front of me, the world and things I needed to feel better." She turned to Luka and smiled. "You have such an amazing talent."

Luka stared at her, smiling.

However, his stare soon made Marinette feel incredibly self-conscious. "I-I'm sorry. I probably sound crazy, don't I?"

Luka frowned slightly. "You need to stop putting yourself down, Marinette"

"I…I…" Marinette stuttered, struggling to think of something to say.

Luka smiled and shook his head. "You're not crazy. You're…quirky."

"Quirky?" Marinette was about to be slightly offended until Luka chuckled.

"Quirky is good though. Quirky is different. Unique. It's good to be unique and different," Luka explained, beaming at her.

Marinette found herself chuckling with him before she reached forward and gently grabbed his hair without thinking. "Is that why you dye your hair all kinds of crazy colours?" She stroked the blue portions of his hair before her eyes widened and she quickly let go, yanking her hand away as if she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "S-sorry!"

Luka laughed, straightening his hair out slightly. "It's okay. I just dyed my hair blue because I like the colour. I'm not trying to prove anything or make a statement."

"I like blue too," Marinette said without thinking as she stared at his bright blue eyes. "I-I mean –" She slapped the top of her head in an effort to force herself to focus. "I-it's a nice colour. I like to use it in my designs a lot because it can have a calming effect," she said a little too quickly.

 _Marinette, what on earth are you talking about?_ She growled internally at herself. She needed to get a grip.

Feeling her face growing warm again, she once more turned her attention towards the daisies she had been messing with earlier. She plucked a few more from the ground and forced herself to focus on them in the hopes she wouldn't say anything else stupid. She began tying a few of them together, creating a daisy chain just like she used to do when her parents would take her to the park when she was a child. And Marinette did indeed feel really childish right now.

"Is Juleka's favourite colour purple then?" Marinette asked, trying to make casual conversation to help distract herself even more from the way she was feeling.

"Hmmm?" Luka sounded like Marinette had just brought him out of a deep thought. "Oh right, yeah it is. But sometimes I do think Juleka just wants to be noticed. She's very shy and often feels like nobody notices her. I'm happy that she has a friend like you though." He turned to beam down at her. "I really appreciate everything you've done for her, especially helping her get over her issue with cameras. She talks very highly of you."

"She does?" Marinette was slightly shocked by this news. She had always liked Juleka and considered her to be a good friend, but she had no idea that she talked about her at home.

"I-I just did what anyone would do," Marinette said awkwardly.

"No, you didn't." Luka shifted his weight so that he sitting much closer towards her. "You did what an amazing and wonderful friend would do and went above and beyond, so thank you."

"I…umm…" Marinette was speechless.

"So if you ever need anything, you know where we both are. We'll always be more than happy to help," Luka offered.

"Thanks, Luka." Marinette rested her head against his shoulder slightly. "That means a lot to me."

She could feel Luka's warmth, even through his jacket. She could feel his shoulders rising and falling slightly as he breathed, and the two of them just sat there for a few moments, just enjoying each other's company. Luka was truly an amazing friend, and Marinette had no idea why she didn't make more effort to spend time with him. He was incredibly easy to be with. He always just seemed to accept her, no matter how weirdly she behaved. He never judged her, and he never complained or got frustrated with her. This felt like just what she needed.

Startled slightly at what she was doing, Marinette quickly raised her head away from Luka's shoulder. That was probably a little bit too far and inappropriate. After all, they barely knew each other, and yet here she was, just resting her head against him as if they had known each other forever. Luka didn't seem to mind though, nor did he seem to take any obvious notice of her suddenly yanking herself off him. Marinette could feel her heart beating a million miles per minute as she watched him out of the corner of her eye, however, she quickly looked away when he looked back towards her.

"So," Luka began, "do you want to talk about what has you so upset?"

Marinette stared glumly at the ground. "Not really," she admitted before she could stop herself.

"That's okay," Luka pulled himself up off the ground, and Marinette stared up at him in shock and confusion.

He just…accepted that? If he had been Alya, or pretty much any of her other friends for that matter, he would not have rested until he had gotten an answer out of her. Marinette knew that it was because her friends cared, but she also couldn't help but be extremely grateful that Luka didn't want to push her or pry into her personal life. He just accepted that Marinette didn't want to talk about it. It was strange not having to be forced into admitting what was wrong with her. It felt…nice. To try and come to terms with things at her own pace and get over things at her own pace without people bombarding her with advice. Once again, Marinette felt so touched by Luka's actions.

Marinette watched as he stared at the tree, stroking the bark with his fingers before he looked down and smiled at her. "This is a place I like to come to when I need to think or if I need some space. But now, it can be your place too. Whenever you need some space, or whenever you're feeling down again, you can just come here and have some time to yourself. It's far enough away from the main path that almost no one ever comes this way."

"Luka…" Marinette gasped, her mouth hanging agape.

Luka simply smiled at her as he packed his guitar away, preparing to leave before Marinette managed to snap herself out of her daze.

"Wait, hang on!" she quickly begged, picking up the daisy chain she had placed next to her before standing up.

She reached over and gently grabbed Luka's hand, and he allowed her to guide it upwards so that his palm was facing the sky. He watched her curiously as Marinette wrapped the daisy chain around his wrist before tying both ends together, forming a bracelet. It completely clashed with his look, but at the same time, it also weirdly complimented it.

"Thank you, Luka," Marinette said as she looked up to meet his eyes again, their hands still clutching each other's. "For everything you've done for me today."

Staring into his eyes soon proved to be a fatal mistake as Marinette suddenly found herself lost in them. They were such a bright, unique shade of blue, like the sun shining on a shimmering ocean. His eyes held nothing but kindness, making Marinette feel incredibly safe and comfortable in his presence. She could almost feel herself instinctively leaning in towards his warmth, longing to be closer to him, to someone who seemed to care for her and accept her for who she was.

"Louise, wait!"

The sound of a man shouting broke Marinette out of her trance, and she turned her head to try and get a better look at where the shouting had come from. The path was a good few metres away from them, and it wasn't long before a crying woman ran into view. She was dressed up really nice, but Marinette could just about tell that some of her make-up was now running down her face.

"Just get away from me!" The woman continued to sob as a man came into view, running after her.

"I hoped that we could still be friends?" Marinette heard the man ask.

The woman, Louise, stared at the man in horror. "Friends?! You just admitted you're in love with my best friend and that you've cheated on me with her and want to be with her, and you want us to all be friends?!"

The man gulped, not knowing what to say.

Marinette heard that strange fluttering sound again, and she turned around and gasped as she saw a familiar dark butterfly fly over her head. It quickly flew towards the woman who looked like she was about to rip her necklace from around her neck until she finally caught sight of the akuma. She screamed at the sight of it and tried to swat it away with her hand, but it was too late.

"NO!" Marinette yelled.

The akuma settled onto her necklace, and the woman instantly went rigid before being engulfed in a dark purple light, transforming her into Hawkmoth's next minion.

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 **Does anyone else think of that Victorious song, 'Best Friend's Brother', when thinking about the Lukanette ship? Because I sure do. I was constantly singing it to myself while I was writing this chapter. I wasn't feeling to well when I was finishing this chapter off, so I hope that everything has turned out okay. As always, please feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review as it always helps me out a great deal. Hopefully, next time the next chapter won't take quite as long barring nothing else happens. But anyway, I hope that you guys have a good week.**

 **Also, I have now created a Twitter account you guys can follow where I post story update news, blog update news, Miraculous Ladybug content, and sometimes just my every day thoughts. You can also ask me questions and message me, and I'll be able to respond much quicker. Feel free to follow my account Taurus_Pixie if that sounds like something that will be of interest to you.**


	4. Medusa

**Welcome back! I was super worried that I was going to have to go on a bit of a hiatus. If you follow me on Twitter then you probably already know all of this, but I was having some majorly huge technical issues during these past few days. Both my laptop and my computer started playing up, leaving me unable to write. Luckily, I managed to get my old laptop to work, thank goodness. I was panicking so much over the whole thing. I would have found a way to write eventually, but still, it's scary when both your main source of writing AND your back-up decide to break. I'm trying to get used to this keyboard again, so editing this chapter should be a lot of fun. I just hope that I catch all of the errors.**

 **Anyway, thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews! They're really what help me keep writing and let me know that my hard work is paying off. I always really appreciate your feedback. And thank you so much to those who have added this story to their favourites and followed it. Your support means the world to me!**

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 **Chapter 4: Medusa**

All Marinette could do was watch in horror as the dark magic of Hawkmoth completely consumed the woman standing a few feet in front of her. She noticed Luka edging himself slightly in front of her out of the corner of her eye, frowning at the scene in front of them, knowing exactly what was about to happen. Marinette knew it too.

She needed to get away, but how was she going to do that without making Luka suspicious? For now, Marinette appeared to be trapped, and that thought made her panic even more. She just hoped that Chat Noir would quickly notice and swoop in, distracting this new akuma long enough for Marinette to try and get away to transform.

But before Marinette could even begin to conjure up some sort of plan, the broken-hearted woman had already transformed. The black ooze faded away, leaving a terrifying and almost familiar looking creature standing before them. She stood up straight, her eyes squeezed tightly closed and her hands balled up into tight fists by her side.

Her previous stylish looking clothes had been replaced by a white toga as if she had just walked straight out of ancient Rome or Greece. Her skin now almost had a green hue to it. But the most terrifying new feature was her hair. Her long, flowing blonde locks had been replaced by terrifying looking snakes that suddenly came to life, rearing their heads up to hiss menacingly at the man who had broken her heart.

The man let out a loud squeal of fear as he began to slowly back away, unable to take his eyes off her. Marinette held her breath as she watched the scene unfold, with Luka still showing no signs of running away and leaving her. If anything, Luka just took an even more protective stance before gently grabbing hold of Marinette's arm, and very slowly, so as not to attract the akuma victim's attention, pulled them back in attempt to hide them both behind a bush.

Marinette had no choice but to relent and follow, grabbing hold of Luka's arm in return just in case things took a turn for the worst and she needed to yank him out of the way. Her superhero instincts were beginning to kick into over-drive, yet Marinette was powerless to do anything at the moment. Her heart was in her mouth, and adrenaline was beginning to pump around her body. She felt so powerless right now. She really needed to find some way of getting Luka to safety before disappearing.

"L-Louise?" the man stuttered out, his eyes worried and wide in fear.

Louise began to cackle at the mention of her name, throwing her head back to laugh hysterically, still keeping her eyes tightly shut as her whole body shook. The snakes hissed even louder, never taking the eyes off the man, who stumbled backwards slightly upon hearing such a terrifying laugh.

"There is no Louise anymore. I am now only Medusa!" Medusa cried out. "Never again will a woman be scorned! Never again will women experience heartbreak at the hands of men! Never again will women suffer at the hands of men! I shall be their guardian! Women will be a whole lot better in a world without men!"

Medusa then looked down and finally opened her eyes. Marinette couldn't quite see what they looked like, but she soon gasped in horror as the man shrieked before instantly turning to stone, eternally locked in the position that he had just been standing in, an expression of pure horror and fear on his face. This caught the attention of a few other people in the park, who immediately began screaming and running for their lives, all the while Medusa continued to laugh hysterically. A few people accidentally looked her in the eye as they tried to see what it was exactly they were running away from. That was their last mistake, as Medusa instantly turned at least five other people into stone, her eyes scanning the park, hoping the catch as many people's eyes as possible.

"Well, I think it's pretty clear that things have gotten off to a rocky start here," a familiar voice teased from the top of the oak tree that Marinette and Luka had just been sitting under.

Marinette looked up and sighed in relief to see that Chat Noir was finally on the scene. He was leaning cockily against another branch while he looked down, smirking as he spun his tale around in his hand. Medusa looked up at him in annoyance, however, she soon smirked, no doubt realising that Chat Noir would likely glance up at her soon. That's when Marinette realised that he probably hadn't seen what had just happened. She then watched, panic-stricken, as Chat Noir's head began to look up, almost in slow motion.

"Chat Noir! Don't look her in the eye! That's how she turns people into stone!" Marinette yelled, immediately catching Chat Noir's attention as he looked down in confusion, trying to find whoever had just yelled that advice at him. He was distracted now, but at least he wasn't looking Medusa in the eye. The last thing Marinette needed right now was her vital partner turning into a statue.

Both Medusa and her snakes hissed in Marinette's direction. "A fellow sister would betray me?"

"Turning all men into stone will not ease your pain!" Marinette yelled back, making sure to keep her eyes now pinned to the ground.

"Well you'll certainly never get to find out, because you'll be joining them," Medusa hissed, and Marinette could feel her intense gaze boring into her.

However, Marinette refused to look up, once again keeping her gaze firmly locked on the ground. Medusa grumbled in frustration before she began storming towards them. Marinette began backing away, her heart beating fearfully in her chest as she began to squeeze her eyes tightly closed, as no doubt Medusa would try and force her to look at her.

A large, warm hand grabbing hold of hers instantly began to wash away her fears though, as it tightly clung onto her and pulled them both backwards. She could sense Luka right next to her, refusing to leave her side, the two of them facing the oncoming threat together. As she was pulled back, still able to hear Medusa storming towards them, Marinette continued to rake her brain for some sort of plan, but her mind was still blank, completely consumed by panic at the thought of Luka now getting hurt because of her. She should have kept her mouth shut. She wasn't Ladybug right now, she was Marinette. She should have run off with Luka as soon as she had shouted her advice to Chat Noir.

Just as Marinette was getting ready to yank Luka out of the way and try to run away with him to get to safety, the sound of Medusa yelping in pain and shock caused her to freeze in place. Cautiously, Marinette risked opening one of her eyes slightly, making sure to keep her focus on the ground while trying to observe what was happening out of the corner of her eye.

She vaguely saw Chat Noir's silver baton shining in the sun as it fell to the ground, and she sensed rather than saw Chat Noir land on the ground a few feet away. Medusa was still crying out in frustration, and Marinette looked up a little bit more, keeping her eyes firmly focused on Chat Noir. He was smirking at her as he picked up his baton and got into a fighting stance.

Upon Medusa now being distracted, Luka finally managed to pull both of them behind the bush at last, both of them peering through slightly in the hopes of seeing some of what was going on. Luka kept his arm wrapped tightly around her waist, and Marinette could feel her face heating up, her mind almost turning to mush. However, she quickly shook her head and forced herself to focus. She still needed to figure a way out to transform. No doubt Chat Noir was starting to wonder where she was.

"I don't want to cast the first stone, but isn't it a little petty to act like this when rejected?" Chat Noir half-joked as he kept his eyes closed, his ears twitching as he paid closer attention to the sounds around him.

"I was not rejected!" Medusa growled out. "He cheated on me!"

"So that means that every man in the world and everyone who opposes your opinion has to suffer? I'm sorry for what you've been through, but you can't let your anger and pain control you like this," Chat Noir said, trying to speak softly with her and get her to see sense. "Soon you'll find people who really do care about you. I guess it just means that this guy wasn't the one. I know it hurts now, but time is a great healer."

"Silence!" Medusa screamed. "All men are the same. Nasty, cunning, vicious creatures that do nothing but use women for their own selfish gain. I've been hurt by them too many times now. Never again. And I will make sure that every woman on Earth is protected from their wicked games. Now, look me in the eye and honestly tell me you've never hurt a girl in your life."

"Nice try," Chat chuckled out before turning serious again and almost sombre. "Do you think it's only women that get hurt by men? That women can't hurt men too? That men can't love a girl and not have that love returned?"

Marinette winced at those words. She knew exactly what Chat Noir was talking about. Everything was such a huge mess. Maybe Adrien's lack of interest in her was karma because of her lack of interest in Chat Noir. Was fate just trying to give her a taste of her own medicine? The pain she had felt when she had overheard Adrien talking about his love for Kagami…was that the pain that Chat Noir experienced when she had told him that she was in love with someone else?

But she didn't love Chat Noir…at least not like that anyway, and it wasn't something she couldn help. She couldn't just change her feelings for his sake. That wouldn't be fair on both of them. They would both be living a cruel lie, and how would that make either of them happy?

That's when Marinette realised. She couldn't expect Adrien to change his feelings either. He was in love with someone else, and Marinette was going to have to accept that, just like Chat Noir had to accept that she was in love with someone else. It still saddened her a great deal, but she couldn't force Adrien to love her. She could feel her heart breaking even more at the thought, but…maybe it just wasn't meant to be. That was a fact that she was just going to have to accept. It was wrong of her to blame Adrien for any of this. It wasn't his fault. He couldn't control his feelings. It was up to Marinette to handle it in a mature way, otherwise she could end up like the poor akumatized girl in front of her.

Maybe all of this had also happened for a reason. Maybe it was a sign. A sign that Marinette needed to learn to let go and not let pain, bitterness and envy consume her. Because if you really love someone, their happiness comes before your own. You have to let them go.

However, it didn't appear that Medusa was listening to Chat Noir's words as she simply screamed at him. The snakes that now made up her hair hissed and seemed to grow in size, rising into the air as they locked their eyes onto Chat Noir, coiling their bodies into an 's' like position, ready to strike. Though Chat Noir couldn't look up, it seemed like he sensed what was going on, his ears still twitching as he tried to pay close attention to everything that was going on around him.

Finally, one of the snakes lunged at him, and Chat Noir yelped, managing to leap out of the way just in time by jumping into the air. Despite his eyes opening in shock, he still managed to make sure that he didn't look Medusa in the eye as he grabbed his baton from around his belt again. Chat then ran off in a direction where there was hardly any people, likely eager to make sure that she didn't manage to turn anyone else into stone.

Marinette sighed with relief. He sure could be a smart kitty sometimes, and she was so grateful to have someone like him as a superhero partner. Hopefully Chat Noir could now distract her long enough for her to get there. But Luka's hand around her waist was firmly making sure that that didn't happen right now.

"Are you alright, Marinette?" Luka's deep voice snapped Marinette out of her attempts to try and come up with a plan.

"Oh – umm – yeah. Are you?"

"Yeah. I'm just glad that you're alright. What you did just then was incredibly brave," Luka praised, smiling down at her.

Marinette once again almost found herself lost for words, just like when he had praised her bravery when she had saved them all from Captain Hardrock. She could feel her heart beginning to delicately flutter in her chest, as if it was trying to fly away and sore high into the sky. Luka thought she was brave? He was genuinely worried about her. He was so sweet and caring and… _focus, Marinette,_ she mentally scolded herself, continuing to try and come up with an escape plan.

"Do you think that Ladybug is going to show up soon?" Marinette asked, hoping that maybe she could suggest that they split up to 'look for her' or something. Anything that would get her away from Luka just long enough for her to transform without being seen.

"I know she will. She always does," Luka replied, sounding pretty confident before letting go of Marinette to peak around the bush to try and see what was going on. "She'll probably show up at any time now."

Marinette saw her chance, and she took it. She hated doing this, but this would likely be her only opportunity to slip away, and she had to think of Chat Noir and Paris. While Luka was distracted, she quickly slipped away, trying to keep her footsteps as light as possible as she ran away. Her heart clenched slightly in her chest as she could hear Luka faintly calling her name, having now noticed that she was missing.

Marinette forced herself not to look back though, and quickly found shelter behind another tree and all but ripped open her purse to let Tikki out. Her kwami immediately shot Marinette a sympathetic look, but Marinette didn't have time for all of this right now. She had a job to do. She needed to save Paris. So before Tikki could even open her mouth to question what was going on, Marinette uttered the magic words.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette commanded, unable to help but sigh in relief as the familiar pink magic engulfed her. She had been so worried that she wouldn't be able to get away to fight. Now she could help Chat Noir in taking on Medusa, and then she could get back to Luka and hopefully try and come up with a reasonable excuse, and hopefully, if she was lucky, he wouldn't hate her.

Once she was finished transforming, Ladybug peaked around the trunk of the tree, making sure to keep her eyes slightly downcast so that she wouldn't accidentally make eye contact with Medusa. She could just about see her fighting Chat Noir in her peripheral vision. She kept trying to get her snakes to attack him while Chat Noir did everything he could to dodge her attacks, all the while also making sure that he didn't accidentally look into her eyes. But Ladybug knew that it would only be a matter of time.

Medusa then lurched forward, ready to strike again, and this time, it looked like she might actually win. Panicking, Ladybug swung her yo-yo forward and wrapped it around Medusa's ankle before yanking her backwards, knocking her off her feet. Medusa shrieked in shock and annoyance, turning her attention around to Ladybug. Ladybug made sure to quickly look away, instead, focusing her attention on a very relieved looking Chat Noir.

"Did I ever tell you how much you rock, my lady?" Chat Noir purred at her.

Ladybug rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smirk back. She immediately ran over towards him, taking up a defensive stance in front of him, deciding to take the brunt of whatever Medusa had to offer after Chat Noir had spent so long trying to keep her occupied while waiting for her to arrive. She kept her eyes planted on Medusa's feet as she finally stood back up, hissing at the both of them.

Medusa's snakes struck again, snapping their sharp fangs at them as Chat Noir grabbed hold of Ladybug just in time, pulling them both out of the way. Ladybug was so grateful for Chat Noir's ears at this point. Without them, they likely would have lost at this point.

"You two would make lovely statues. But of course, it would be wise to hand over your miraculous first," Medusa taunted.

"How are we supposed to fight someone we can't even look at?" Ladybug questioned.

She knew they couldn't just keep simply dodging her attacks forever, and that thought was further validated when some of the snakes from her head lunged at them again, almost biting Ladybug's wrist as Chat Noir once again pulled her out of the way. Ladybug was essentially completely blind right now. All she was able to work out was Medusa's location and that was it. She couldn't risk looking up to see what she was doing, nor she could tell when once of her snakes was preparing to strike. She was completely relying on Chat Noir in that regard.

"I don't know, but we need to think of something soon," Chat Noir replied, yanking them both out of the way again so that they were both now standing on a tree branch with a bird's eye view of the park.

Ladybug began looking around, though still made sure to keep her gaze away from Medusa's general direction. There had to be some way that they could defeat her. But…how? Ladybug couldn't even risk looking at her. She knew where the akuma was, but she couldn't get to it. Not without potentially looking Medusa in the eye anyway, or without getting attacked by one of her snakes.

"Marinette!"

Ladybug could hear a familiar voice calling her name. She looked down and gasped to see that Luka had left their previous hiding spot and now appeared to be out looking for her. There was a panicked expression on his face, and guilt and panic immediately stabbed Marinette in the chest. He would risk his life to look for her? Ladybug couldn't believe it…

However, it seemed like Ladybug wasn't the only person who had spotted him. Ladybug gasped when she saw out of the corner of her eye that Medusa had now begun moving in Luka's direction, stalking towards him as if he was nothing more than a small animal, her prey. Her snakes hissed and recoiled back, getting ready to strike, yet Luka didn't seem to have noticed as he continued to frantically search for her.

This was bad. This was so bad!

"NO!" Ladybug screamed as Medusa continued to approach Luka.

"My lady?" Chat Noir questioned in confusion, but Ladybug ignored him as she leapt off the tree branch and flew towards Luka and Medusa without thinking.

She tackled Luka to the ground just as he was about to turn around and accidentally face Medusa, who hissed in frustration as Ladybug blocked Luka's view of her. Luka quickly caught onto what was happening, despite the shock of being suddenly pinned to the ground by Ladybug, and quickly shielded his eyes, leaving just enough room for him to look Ladybug directly in the eyes.

"What are you doing?!" Ladybug cried. "Don't you know how dangerous this is?!"

"Ladybug! My friend Marinette disappeared! I need to find her!" Luka exclaimed in panic.

"It's okay, she's safe, but we need to get you out of here before I can explain," Ladybug urged, pulling Luka up and swinging her yo-yo, ready to pull them both to safety.

"Ladybug! Watch out!" Luka suddenly yelled.

Without thinking, Ladybug looked up just in time to see a snake leaping towards her, its yellow eyes glowing as it opened its mouth wide, ready to sink its fangs into her. Ladybug didn't even have a chance to scream as she closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact and to potentially be turned into a statue.

But nothing happened.

Instead, all she could hear was the crackle of stone just in front of her before there was silence. Medusa then began laughing, and that's when Ladybug finally opened her eyes, only to see nothing but what looked like a giant rock in front of her. She moved her hand back, feeling around, hoping to maybe grab hold of Luka and let his warmth reassure her that they were both okay. However, she couldn't feel anything. Just the soft grass beneath her.

That's when Ladybug's eyes finally travelled upwards, finally realising that Luka had jumped in front of her, and had now been turned completely into stone, his protective stance in front of her frozen forever.

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 **Oh no! This doesn't look good, does it? Once again, I'm really sorry if this chapter quality isn't the best since I'm working on a laptop that's much different to the one that I'm used to. I'm not used to having the keys spread so far apart or having to slam down on them as much. Not to mention I'm still getting over all the panic and stress, and action chapters are always so hard to write. But here's hoping I still did a good job; you guys are ultimately the judge of that. On that note, please feel free to leave a review letting me know your thoughts as it always helps me out a great deal. See you all again soon!**


	5. New Feelings

**I'm finally back! I am so sorry about the over three month delay for this chapter. I ended up having to go on hiatus due to some personal things that I had going on, as those people who read my blog probably already know. I came out of hiatus last month, only I just couldn't seem to get my inspiration back for this story. But luckily, thanks to a nudge from LycoRogue with her amazing and cute Lukanette one-shot (which I totally recommend you check out), it all began to come back to me. The story is called, 'I Was Thinking Of You'. Please read and show her some love and support.**

 **Thank you so much for being patient with me and for all of your amazing reviews. I can't believe that this story has 100 favourites already. That's so insane, thank you so much! But now, without further ado, let's get back into things.**

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 **Chapter 5: New Feelings**

Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion to a point where Ladybug felt like the world was going to freeze at any second. The breeze blowing through her hair, the feel of the grass beneath her, the feeling of the warm air being sucked into her mouth as she breathed in an involuntary gasp of shock, and the afternoon sun which had now been blocked from meeting her skin by the stone structure that was now in front of her.

"Luka…" Ladybug heard herself whisper in shock.

His whole body was frozen in place, locked in the protective stance he adopted as he must have jumped in front of her. She couldn't see his face, just the back of his head, his hair whipping slightly to the side, his jacket following suit, with his arms outspread at either side of him. She could just barely make out the shadow of Medusa standing in front of him, seemingly shocked and surprised at Luka's actions, but her whole body still shook with laughter at having turned another victim to stone.

Meanwhile, Ladybug's heart had leapt up into her throat, forming a huge lump that restricted her breathing. She felt like she was about to choke. Tears stung the corners of her eyes, and a huge weight pressed down on her back as the guilt of what had just happened began to set in, her mind finally processing everything that had just occurred.

Luka had been turned to stone.

Luka had been turned to stone while trying to save her.

He had done this for her. If Ladybug hadn't been so careless and stupid, then none of this would have happened. She should have got Luka out of the way quicker. This was all going wrong very quickly. She would need to find a way to end this so that Luka as well as everyone else could be returned to normal.

Blinking back to the tears, Ladybug knew that she couldn't break down now. She had to keep a level head, no matter how much she wanted to panic and cry over what had just happened. She had to do this for Luka. He had been so kind to her, and now she was going to return the favour. Ladybug was going to make sure that she saved him.

Ladybug stood up straight from her slight crouching position, making sure that she was looking away in case Medusa tried to jump in front of her again. She clenched her hands into tight fists, gritting her teeth together as anger and determination began to engulf her. All the while, Medusa was finally calming down from her laughing fit. It felt like an eternity had passed, but in reality, it was probably only a few seconds. The pace of the world began to speed up again, and Ladybug growled lowly to herself.

However, it wasn't long before Medusa made her move again, attempting to jump around Luka's stone body and attack Ladybug again. But Ladybug was ready, quickly jumping back away from the snakes that were trying to snap at her again. Most of her concentration was centred on trying to not look at Medusa, so she tripped and stumbled a few times, allowing the akumatized victim to get closer and closer to her. Ladybug could feel her heart hammering against the inside of her chest, and droplets of sweat formed on her forehead.

Just as Ladybug was about to make a fatal stumble, something thin and metal caught her, and Ladybug quickly wrapped her arms around it. The metal pole launched her into the air with Ladybug still clinging on, smirking as she heard Medusa scream out in frustration. She was pulled away from the scene and spun around in the air until she was brought into another tree with a determined and worried looking Chat Noir waiting for her.

"You took your time, Kitty," Ladybug playfully teased, but still, there was a little bit of a serious edge to her words.

Where on earth had Chat Noir been? Had he just been standing around and gawping at everything that was going on for the past few minutes? She didn't want to think badly of her partner, but she was growing slightly frustrated with his lack of help with what had just happened. Maybe he could have saved Luka, maybe he could have helped get them both out of there or do something to help distract and defeat Medusa.

Up in the tree, Ladybug's eyes couldn't help but worriedly flicker back into the direction of the stone statue that was now Luka. She felt so guilty for leaving him there. She wanted nothing more than to have taken him away with them, but what good would it have done? He was a statue now, so hopefully that meant that Medusa would leave him alone. They both needed to end this and fast.

"I went to go look for Marinette, Luka said she was missing," Chat Noir exclaimed urgently.

Ladybug froze and turned to Chat Noir with wide, panicked eyes, words becoming stuck in her throat.

"I thought that while you got Luka to safety that I would do the same with Marinette, but I can't find her anywhere," Chat continued, looking increasingly worried.

Ladybug couldn't help but be slightly touched that Chat Noir seemed to care so much about her civilian self, though why he did, she wasn't too sure. It must just be because he was doing his job as a superhero. Ladybug was sure that she would feel the same if she had heard that someone was missing while the midst of a dire battle.

"Marinette's safe," Ladybug answered him, trying to re-focus his attention onto the task at hand.

"But how do you know that? She could have been turned to stone! She could be lost! She could be hurt!" Chat Noir gripped his blond hair, bouncing on the spot slightly, his eyes wide with fear.

"Erm…I…because I saved her," Ladybug stuttered a quick explanation, "yeah, I managed to get her to safety before I came to join you in the fight."

Chat Noir's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Are you sure she's safe?"

"Of course," Ladybug quickly reassured, waving her hand slightly dismissively.

Chat visibly sighed in relief.

"But right now we need to focus on taking down Medusa, otherwise no one will be safe." Ladybug frowned in concentration, listening carefully as Medusa kept trying to call them and taunt them, the thick leaves and branches of the tree they were standing in luckily blocking their views of each other.

Luckily it didn't seem like anyone else was in the park with most people having escaped. So hopefully that meant it could just be them versus Medusa now. Ladybug just hoped that she wouldn't run off and start causing chaos in the city. She had to think of something fast before things escalated any more than they already had done. It looked like that to do that, she would need to pull out her special weapon.

"Lucky charm!" Ladybug yelled, swinging her yo-yo up into the air as pink magic began to engulf it.

Soon, a tiny hammer and chisel fell down into her hands, and Ladybug looked down at in confusion, turning it to different angles as she examined the objects.

"Okaaaay then," Ladybug said, perplexed.

"How's that going to help us when it's the victims made out of stone and not Medusa?" Chat Noir complained, staring down at the objects with just as much confusion as Ladybug.

Wait a minute…Chat Noir had made a very interesting point. It sparked an idea inside her mind like someone had just lit a match. Now all that Ladybug needed to do was light the fuse. To do this, she began looking around, being careful to not accidentally look in the direction of Medusa. The public bathroom in the distance caught her attention before her eyes flickered back towards Chat Noir, who was staring at her expectantly. Her eyes then travelled down to his tail wrapped around his waist before she looked down at the thick tree branch beneath her feet.

Of course!

"Chat Noir, follow me!" Ladybug commanded, swinging her yo-yo to hook around the lamppost next to the bathrooms.

"With pleasure, my lady." Chat extended his baton and followed her without question.

Ladybug kept her eyes firmly focused on her goal, not turning around to check and see where Medusa was. Even if Medusa had spotted them it wouldn't matter. Ladybug just needed one thing from this area. With her goal in mind, she dashed into the women's bathroom before turning around to see Chat Noir stood awkwardly at the door, looking uncomfortable.

"Chat, what are you doing?" Ladybug hissed urgently. "Get in here!"

"But…this is the girls' bathroom…" he muttered nervously, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

Ladybug rolled her eyes before reaching over to grab his wrist and pull him inside.

"I'm sure your social faux pas will be forgiven just this once," she replied before smirking at the sight of the mirrors that had been mounted on the wall in front of them just above the sinks. "I need you to destroy this wall."

"Got it," Chat replied. "Cataclysm!"

Dark magic engulfed his hand, which Chat Noir then placed on the grey bathroom walls which began to turn dark brown, the bricks crumbling to pieces as the dark, destructive magic seeped its way over the strong material that proved to be no match. Ladybug held her hands out, ready to catch one of the mirrors which fell loose from the wall as the bricks behind it continued to collapse. Smoke filled the room, causing them both to cough, but Ladybug refused to let that distract her as the heavy mirror landed safely in her hands. She stared at her reflection, ready and determined to carry out phase two of her plan.

"Chat, take your belt off." Ladybug held out her hand, ready to take it off him, adjusting the mirror so that the majority of its heavy weight was resting on her hip.

"My lady, I am not that kind of cat," Chat Noir playfully teased, winking at her as he slowly undid his belt.

Ladybug stared at him with a fed up expression as she snatched the belt out of his hand long before he was ready to hand it to her.

"This is serious, Chat," she scolded. "There's innocent people that have been turned to stone."

"And you wound me with your _metamorphical_ heart of stone, my lady." Chat Noir pretended to swoon dramatically.

"Ssssh!" Ladybug hissed, forcing the both of them to be silent as she strained her ears to listen for any possible sound that could be Medusa.

Chat Noir quickly caught on to what she was doing and followed suit, his much more sensitive ears twitching at even the slightest noise. However, Ladybug couldn't hear much, and that worried her. It seemed like Medusa had stopped her tactic of shouting for them, and the fact that Ladybug couldn't pin-point her location or what she was doing made her nervous. It was so much harder to fight a villain that you weren't allowed to look at.

"Can you hear her?" Ladybug whispered to Chat Noir.

The sudden hissing sound of snakes at the entrance of the bathroom immediately answered Ladybug's question, and both of them yelped in surprise, turning their backs on the door. Medusa laughed, the snakes hissing even louder in response.

"Oh come on, you two would look so lovely as statues," Medusa taunted them. "You will be the most prized additions to my collection. Only first, I'm afraid that a certain Hawkmoth needs something from you, so be kind dears and hand them over so that I can continue turning the men of the world into stone like they deserve."

"Misandrist," Chat Noir sniggered out.

Medusa growled in response. "Men do nothing but hurt others. They wreck women's lives and treat them like dirt. They quickly move onto the next new thing, not caring about other people's feelings. They lie and they cheat, and they'll do anything to get what they want. They must pay for hurting women all around the world."

"And women don't hurt men?" Chat Noir challenged her. "There are plenty of women out there who reject people and lie and cheat. There are those that disappear and leave a huge hole in your life." Chat began to sound emotional. "There are those that no matter how much you love them, and try to express that love to them, they'll never feel the same way. That's just life. I know more than anyone how much life can constantly kick you down. But you just have to keep picking yourself up. We don't always get what we want. It's good to fight for things, but there also comes a time when you need to accept that there's nothing more you can do and walk away. Sometimes it just means that there's something better for you waiting around the corner."

Ladybug's eyebrows furrowed slightly at his words. He was right. Ladybug didn't think she had ever heard Chat Noir say anything so profound. His last words resonated with her. Maybe there was such thing as fate. Maybe life was trying to point her down a different path. People learned from hurt and pain, and learned to take a different course of action as a result. A person who burns their hand on a hot flame is unlikely to try and touch it again. Maybe this was a lesson that she needed to learn with Adrien.

"Sentimental and philosophical gibberish won't save you," Medusa growled her response.

Before Ladybug could react, Chat Noir had wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her out through the giant hole that stood where the bathroom wall used to. She gasped in shock, freezing at first before realising that Chat Noir must have heard that she had been ready to launch herself at them. She quickly found her footing, and Chat Noir let go once he was confident that Ladybug was steady on her feet.

"So, what's next in your little plan?" Chat Noir asked as they both kept running, Medusa screaming behind them and no doubt chasing them.

"Distract her," Ladybug ordered as she locked eyes with the tree that she and Chat Noir had been in just a few minutes ago.

"That doesn't sound like a very _concrete_ plan, bugaboo," Chat Noir sighed as he took off in a different direction, shouting insults at Medusa.

Meanwhile, Ladybug kept heading towards the tree with the mirror, belt and hammer and chisel gripped tightly in her arms, not daring to look back to see if Chat Noir's distraction was working. She trusted him and knew that he would buy her enough time to carry out her plan. She just needed a few seconds to set everything up and then hopefully this would all be over.

With her hands full, Ladybug leapt back up into the tree, wrapping Chat Noir's belt around the branch as she did so before landing gracefully back on the branch. Biting her lip in concentration, she then began tying the other end of the belt around one of the hooks in the mirror. She just hoped that Chat Noir's belt was strong enough to hold this.

Ladybug then gently lowered the mirror over the edge of the branch, gripping Chat Noir's belt tightly so as not to let it fall too far down, just enough so that it was hung in the air and out of sight. Her miraculous beeped in her ear, and Ladybug knew that she and Chat Noir were running out of time. She just hoped that it would work. Her heart twisted itself into a knot as the stone form of Luka invaded her mind. He was counting on her. This had to work. Ladybug would make it work.

"Anytime, my lady," Chat Noir cried out, sounding like he was growing increasingly desperate and worried.

Ladybug propelled herself down from the tree and landed back on the grass, grunting at the weight of the mirror as she gripped onto Chat's belt. Luckily the mirror continued to be held in the air, though the leather of the belt did seem to be straining slightly as it was being stretched to its limits. She risked a glance over at Chat Noir who was busy running around as Medusa tried to jump in front of him and catch him off guard. It looked like he was managing to hold his own so far, but Medusa was getting closer and far more crafty. The snakes on her head kept lurching forward in what looked like an attempt to grab Chat Noir and pin him in place.

Taking a deep breath, Ladybug whistled, and Chat Noir looked back over to her, his eyes lighting up slightly as he caught on to what exactly her plan was. He began running towards her, with Medusa following suit just like Ladybug had hoped. She was so determined to catch Chat Noir now that she almost looked like she was becoming insane. She certainly wasn't thinking ahead, that was for sure, so consumed by her anger as she was.

Ladybug looked down at the grass so that she wouldn't look Medusa in the eye, using her ears and the feeling of the vibrations in the ground beneath her. The two of them were getting much closer, and Ladybug really had to concentrate to make sure that she timed this just right.

She sense Chat Noir running past her, and she immediately lowered the mirror in front of her, protecting both her and Chat Noir from view while also giving Medusa a taste of her own medicine. The sound of the gargled scream that came out of Medusa's mouth was horrifying as her body turned to stone, her whole body creaking and crackling as it settled into place. Then there was nothing but silence as Ladybug and Chat Noir both exchanged glances before they slowly peered around the mirror.

Medusa stood before them, her body cowering away in terror as she realised her grave error at the very last second. She was frozen in place, her whole body now a dark grey stone with no hint of life. Ladybug let out a deep breath she didn't realise she was holding before lowering the mirror back down onto the ground. She then smiled confidently as she pulled the tiny hammer and chisel out, casually walking over to the statue of Medusa and placing the chisel against the necklace.

With a gentle tap from the hammer, the necklace crumbled, causing the akuma to come flying out, fluttering off into the sky in a panic. But there was no way that Ladybug was going to let it get away as she opened up her yo-yo and swung it towards the dark butterfly, instantly capturing it before purifying it and setting it free.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" she cried out in relief, throwing her lucky charm into the air and watching desperately as the magic began to fly around them, fixing everything that had just occurred.

The damage to the bathroom was fixed, and the people who had been turned to stone instantly turned back to normal, crying out in relief as they did so. Medusa's form melted away with the broken hearted girl from before replacing her. She collapsed onto the ground on her hands and knees, gasping in panic before looking around in confusion.

"What happened? Where am I?" she gasped out.

"It's okay, you're safe," Ladybug comforted her, bending down so that she could gently place a hand on her shoulder.

Tears began forming in the girl's eyes as she remembered what had happened earlier.

"I know it's hard, but heartbreak is a part of life. He obviously wasn't the one, and if he now loves someone else, then I'm afraid that there's nothing you can do about it. Yeah he was a jerk and cheated on you, but people like that don't belong in your life. The best and healthiest thing you can do…" Ladybug trailed off as her eyes instinctively drifted up towards Luka as he was transformed back to normal. "Is to move on."

"Thanks, Ladybug." The girl sniffed, still with tears in her eyes, but now there was also a little glimmer of hope for the future.

"Pound it!" Chat Noir cried gleefully, holding out his fist.

But Ladybug barely registered his words. Her eyes were still locked on Luka as he began to look frantically around. Her legs carried her forward before she could stop them, and before Ladybug knew it, she was at Luka's side, about to wrap her arms around him in relief. Luckily, she managed to stop herself just in time, smiling at him awkwardly instead when he turned around to look at her after sensing her presence.

"Ladybug, is Marinette okay?!" he asked desperately.

Ladybug immediately felt her cheeks heat up at his concern for her. It was just like that time when she was battling against Captain Hardrock. He always wanted to know that she was safe. He was so sweet and caring, and it made Ladybug's heart swell which sent a pleasant warmth all over her body. These new feelings were terrifying, but at the same time, incredibly relaxing. It was as if she had just stepped into a nice, warm bath before she laid back and allowed herself to float. She felt safe and light, almost like she was floating on a cloud through the heavens.

Her words from a few seconds ago began to echo in her mind like she was trapped inside a dark tunnel. Only now, a light had appeared ahead of her, a blue and peaceful light, just like the colour of Luka's eyes. It guided her towards safety and happiness, helping to soothe the aching hole in her chest that had been left by Adrien. Luka was her medicine, a calming melody, a soft protective blanket, and it helped distract her from all the pain.

"Marinette's safe," Ladybug found herself replying in a dreamy voice.

She quickly shook her head. What was wrong with her? Why did she always act like such a dork when she was around Luka? There was just something about him that made her giddy and jittery. She acted weird around him, and the reaction she had to him almost reminded her of how she felt whenever she was around Adrien.

Thinking of his name was like a freezing cold shower. A heavy weight came crashing back down on her, sending her plummeting down from her soft and cosy cloud high in the sky. Her heart collapsed back down into her stomach, and her whole body once again felt like it was made of lead. Her eyes stung with tears, but Ladybug quickly blinked them away and tried to act as nonchalant as possible.

She cleared her throat and continued, "I managed to get her to safety just before I arrived."

Luka sighed with relief, looking incredibly happy at that news.

"Thank you so much, Ladybug," Luka praised as he pulled Ladybug into a tight embrace.

Ladybug's eyes widened in shock before she was unable to resist melting in his arms. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion again, and once again her insides began to feel warm. The feeling of Luka's arms around her was indescribable, and no doubt her face had turned completely bright red. But she couldn't bring herself to care in that moment. All she could focus on was just how natural Luka's arms felt around her, and how much his tall frame engulfed her.

Much too soon though, she felt something pushing them both apart.

"I think that's enough thank yous for now," Chat Noir spoke sharply, an angry expression suddenly on his face. "But Ladybug and I are about to transform back, so we better get going."

Chat Noir glared only at Luka as he spoke, which confused and annoyed Ladybug slightly. But he was technically correct, and the sound of the warning beeping in her ears reminded her of that fact. Maybe he was just anxious to get back and make sure that both of their identities weren't revealed. However, she didn't like the way that he was gripping her arm and blocking her from Luka's view, so she quickly stepped away from him before speaking to Luka again.

"It's all part of the job, Luka," Ladybug found herself boasting slightly, her heart fluttering in her chest as it began to pleasantly tingle.

"Thanks again." Luka waved at them both as Chat Noir began to drag them both away, a sour look on his face.

Ladybug goofily waved back before she turned around, unable to keep a huge smile off her face.

"He was getting a little too close for comfort," Chat Noir suddenly snapped, once again snapping Ladybug out of her trance.

"Huh?"

"Just grabbing you and hugging you like that!"

"He was only saying thank you." Ladybug was beginning to grow more and more annoyed at Chat Noir's sudden change in attitude.

"Then he should have just said it," Chat grumbled.

"Look, Chat, I don't have time for your weird mood swings right now," Ladybug sighed out. "I didn't mind him hugging me."

"What?!" Chat Noir gasped, his eyes growing wide and panicked.

"Anyway, I've got to get going. I've got enough problems to deal with," Ladybug added sadly, her earrings beginning to sound their final warning.

She swung her yo-yo and took off to somewhere she could safely transform back, her heart once again growing heavy with sorrow as Adrien began to invade her mind again. But even more strangely, also at the thought of it possibly being a while before she saw Luka again.

* * *

 **Ugh, writing actions scenes are so hard, as well as coming up with akuma and lucky charm ideas. I have no idea how the writers of the show do all of this. Also, just a heads up for you guys, I haven't seen the episode 'Silencer' yet, so please don't include spoilers in your comments. I also apologise if this chapter comes across as a little rusty as a result of my hiatus and subsequent writer's block. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts in a review as it really helps me out. I'll now hopefully be updating this story every Monday, so I'll see you next week!**


	6. Awkward Misery

**Hey guys. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to get this chapter up on time due to an emergency that I had to deal with, but luckily everything turned out okay. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews on the previous chapter. I was shocked that people were actually still reading this story. Thank you so much for sticking with me despite my long hiatus.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Awkward Misery**

As soon as Marinette had transformed back into her civilian self behind a tree in the park, the misery instantly hit her again now that she was away from any distractions. Adrien's words continued to ring around in her mind, never ceasing in their endless torture. Everything that she had been holding back during the battle came rushing up to the surface, almost drowning her. Her throat closed up, and tears once again began stinging her eyes.

It seemed no matter how much she tried to reassure herself, or try to take her own advice she had just given herself and that girl about moving on, the pain still felt incredibly fresh and raw.

But Marinette supposed that it would take time. She was kidding herself if she thought she could just get over something like that. She had spent such a long time loving and longing for Adrien, that finally learning to let go would be extremely difficult. Because no matter what he thought of her, or how much he had hurt her by being in love with another, Marinette still couldn't help but love him.

And that just hurt her even more.

"Marinette?" a soft voice interrupted her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

Marinette glumly looked down into her pink purse to see her little red kwami, Tikki, staring up at her with worry filling her large, blue eyes. Even though she knew that her kwami didn't like to judge her, Marinette couldn't help but feel a little bit ridiculous. Embarrassment began to consume her the more she thought of how silly she must look to everyone. Pining after Adrien for so long only for it to be revealed that he was in love with someone else. Marinette didn't think she had ever felt more stupid. What must everyone be thinking of her?

"I feel so stupid," Marinette voiced her thoughts, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Don't talk like that Marinette," Tikki tried to comfort her, "a lot of humans experience similar situations to this. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

Marinette sniffed. "Do you think that, maybe, it wasn't meant to be?"

"What do you mean?"

"If Adrien is in love with someone else, does that mean that he'll never see me in a romantic way? Does that mean we're just not destined to be together? Has everything that I've done, all the feelings I've experienced, just meaningless and a complete waste of time?" Marinette began to question.

Tikki looked away awkwardly. "Errrr, look, I just wouldn't do anything rash or start thinking badly about yourself. These things always have a funny way of working themselves out. Nothing is a waste of time if you choose to try and learn from it."

Marinette looked down after hearing Tikki's words, wondering why her kwami was acting a little awkward, but at the same time, knowing that what she had said was right. She shouldn't do anything rash. As tempting as it was to yell, cry and scream, and go storming to Adrien and Kagami and to maybe hurt them like they had hurt her, or to try and sabotage their relationship, Marinette knew that wasn't the right thing to do.

Her mind was a confused mess right now, and Marinette didn't want to make things any worse than they already were. She had already embarrassed herself in front of Tikki, Alya and Nino. Not to mention that things probably would have been a lot worse if Marinette had actually got around to confessing her feelings today. Maybe today _was_ some sort of weird blessing in disguise? She found out the truth of Adrien's feelings for her without humiliating herself in front of him, and she had found comfort in Luka, who turned out to be a really good and understanding friend.

The thought of Luka once again made her heart skip a beat. He had been so sweet to her. Maybe having someone like that around her was what she needed right now. He was such a calming presence, and he never pushed her, never looked at her weird and never judged her whenever she would stutter in front of him. But still, she couldn't help but feel awkward around him. The compass in her brain was once again spinning around crazily, like Luka was some sort of powerful magnet.

That was when it dawned on Marinette that she had left everyone behind. Were they okay? Were they looking for her? Was Luka still looking for her? Did he still care after Ladybug gave him some reassurance?

Remembering their embrace sent a shiver up Marinette's spine, but she quickly forced herself to snap out of it.

"We better get back, Tikki," Marinette proclaimed, quickly closing her purse again before emerging from behind the tree.

People were beginning to drift back into the park, cheering for Ladybug and Chat after they once again saved the day. There were also people looking for loved ones that they had lost track of, and there were happy scenes of reconciliation as friends and family embraced and checked on each other. The sight warmed Marinette's heart like it always did, but that layer of sadness and humiliation just refused to disappeared. It had latched onto her, wrapping itself around like a suffocating blanket.

Marinette looked around, looking for any sign of Alya or Luka. Her heart sank when she couldn't catch any sign of Luka's dark blue hair in the crowd, and she felt a lot more disappointed than she expected she would be. He was gone. And she would probably rarely if ever see him again now. Their meeting today had been a complete chance encounter. Marinette just wished that she could at least thank him for everything he had done for her this afternoon.

"Marinette!" a panicked yet excited voice called out to her.

At first she had hoped that it was Luka, her heart fluttering in her chest at the thought, however, within the split second it had taken her to become excited and relieved, her brain finally recognised that the voice was actually Alya's. Still feeling relieved though, Marinette turned around to see her best friend running towards her with her phone held tightly in her hand as a frustrated look completely replaced her expression of relief at the sight of Marinette.

"Where on earth did you get to? I was so worried about you," Alya gasped out, coming to a stop in front of her and placing her hands on her knees so that she could catch her breath.

"Oh I – umm…" Marinette stuttered. "I…got rescued by Ladybug," she quickly came up with at last, remembering that she had told Luka and Chat Noir as Ladybug that she had rescued Marinette. She needed to try and keep her story straight after all.

"Really?!" Alya's eyes lit up. "That is so amazing! No but seriously, you didn't get hurt did you?"

Marinette shook her head.

"As for me," Alya growled, growing frustrated again, "I pretty much missed the whole thing. I went looking for you, and when I couldn't find you, I wondered if maybe you had left the park and gone home, and I was about to head there when all of the action started, only police quickly formed a block-aid around the park, so I couldn't get back to record everything for the Ladyblog."

"Oh, well – umm – better luck next time," Marinette said as she patted Alya on the shoulder.

"Are you okay? And I'm not talking about the akuma incident this time," Alya asked, flipping from frustrated to concerned.

"Oh…I…"

However, Marinette was interrupted by the sound of someone calling her name once again. Only this time, Marinette knew that it wasn't Alya. The voice was soothingly familiar. A voice she thought she would be unlikely to hear again after today. Could she be dreaming? Her stomach immediately exploded into a million butterflies, and her heart felt like it was about to come to a sudden halt. She turned around nervously before having to resist the huge smile that tugged at the corner of her lips at the sight of Luka running towards her.

"Marinette!" Luka called again, getting closer and closer, looking more relieved now that he had confirmation that it was indeed her.

"Luka!" Marinette called back, waving at him.

"Luka?" Alya questioned, looking confused.

He came to a halt in front of them, only having eyes for Marinette as he smiled down at her in relief. It was a soft smile that melted Marinette's heart. She could feel her cheeks staining pink as she craned her neck to look up at him, his dark blue hair falling slightly in front of his eyes, which were warm and peaceful like a tropical ocean.

They stood almost awkwardly in front of each other, seemingly both wanting to embrace the other, but ultimately deciding to dare not do so. Marinette really couldn't believe it. Despite reassurance from Ladybug, Luka had still come looking for her. He wanted to make absolutely sure that she was alright, and Marinette couldn't be more touched by the situation. She was glad to see that he was okay, her heart having still not fully recovered from seeing him sacrificing himself for her, turning him into stone.

"I'm so glad that you're okay," Luka spoke after what felt like an eternity, "I heard that Ladybug saved you."

"Y-yeah," Marinette replied, "are _you_ okay?"

"I'm fine, Ladybug saved me too."

"That's great!"

Marinette then froze as Luka placed a hand on her shoulder. His touch sent a warm shiver throughout her entire body, and she could feel her cheeks growing even hotter, no doubt leaving her as red as a tomato. But all she could focus on was Luka's handsome face, and his comforting and concerned smile. He leaned down towards her slightly, lowering his voice.

"And are you okay from _before_?" he asked in a hushed and discrete whisper.

Marinette bit her lip and nodded, not trusting her own voice. It wasn't exactly the truth, but she had nodded before she could stop herself as she was too hypnotised by Luka's light blue eyes. He seemed relieved to hear her say that though, but at the same time, he didn't look too convinced.

However, Marinette was soon brought out of her trance when Luka removed his hand from her shoulder and adjusted his guitar on his back before pulling some paper and a pen out of a pocket on the inside of his jacket. Marinette watched in confusion as Luka quickly wrote something down, cutely holding the pen lid in his mouth as he did so. Before Marinette knew it, Luka had placed the piece of paper in her hands, and she instinctively grabbed it without even looking down at it.

Luka put his pen away before offering Marinette a soft smile again.

"If you ever want to talk, or vent, or get something off your chest, then please feel free to come and talk to me again," Luka offered. "Especially if you need a little bit of music to soothe you."

And with that, Luka placed his hand on Marinette's shoulder one final time before turning his back and walking away. All Marinette could do was stare at the back of his retreating form with her mouth hanging open slightly.

That was…so sweet of him.

He barely even knew her, yet he was offering to be there for her whenever she needed him. She wasn't sure how long she continued to stand there in shock, but no doubt it wasn't long as there was no way that Alya was going to let something like this slide and go unquestioned for long.

"Girl, what just happened?" Alya shrieked.

"Huh…what?" Marinette shook her head to clear it before her eyes finally refocused back on Alya. "I don't know."

Alya then smirked at her. "What exactly did you get up to this afternoon?"

"Oh I…I bumped into Luka," Marinette stuttered her explanation.

"So I see," Alya purred coyly.

"Hey, what are you using that tone for?" Marinette questioned in paranoia.

Alya said nothing as she continued to smirk before grabbing hold of the piece of paper that was in Marinette's hands so that she could get a better look at it. Marinette hadn't even looked at it yet. It could be something private that was on there. But still, Marinette huffed and relented, knowing that there was no point in fighting her best friend on this. Alya would always win.

Instead, she simply stood and watched as Alya examined whatever Luka had written down. She slid her glasses dramatically down her nose before pushing them back up with a shocked expression on her face. Alya stared back at Marinette in disbelief, looking like she was lost for words. This startled Marinette, as Alya was never left speechless.

"Wha –" Marinette was about to ask before Alya cut her off.

"Girl, he's given you his number!"

"What?!" Marinette shrieked in shock, grabbing the piece of paper back from Alya.

There was no mistaking the number that was written down. Luka…Luka Couffaine…had given her his _number_? Marinette's brain refused to process those words. H-how was it possible? Why had he done this? Was he feeling okay? What was going on? The questions continued to dizzily spin around Marinette's brain, making her almost feel like she was going to faint.

Of course there was no way that Luka had done this with romantic intentions. He was just being a good friend and trying to help her out. Marinette's heart deflated with both relief yet also sadness at that revelation. Did…did Marinette want Luka to have romantic intentions towards her?

No! That was ridiculous.

She still had feelings for Adrien. She wasn't ready for more heartbreak and for chasing after a boy again. She was still getting over what had just happened with Adrien. Luka was older than her. He was one of her closest friend's brother. She couldn't have feelings for her friend's brother, that would be weird, not to mention awkward.

But the more Marinette tried to convince herself otherwise, the more miserable she began to become. There was no way that Luka could have feelings for her anyway. She was after all younger than him, and friends with his sister. Why would Luka even be interested in her anyway? She was nothing special, especially after the amount of times she had embarrassed herself in front of him.

"Marinette, now you _have_ to tell me what you've been up!" Alya demanded.

"What? Nothing!" Marinette defended herself quickly. "We just bumped into each other and got talking, that's all."

"Awww, I bet that there was a lot of comforting involved given how upset you were." Alya clasped her hands together and put on an exaggerated dreamy expression.

Marinette glared at her. "Well, so what if he did comfort me? That doesn't mean anything. You're looking way too much into things. He was just trying to help me."

"Says the girl who disappeared and then came back with a handsome, older boy who then gave her his number," Alya laughed out, sounding positively giddy with excitement.

"He was just being nice!"

"Luka _liiiiikkkkees_ you," Alya teased.

"No he doesn't!" Marinette hissed.

"You didn't let the grass grow did you?"

"Alya, please! Enough!" Marinette begged. "Luka was just being nice, that's all. There's nothing going on between us. I don't have it in me to think about boys right now. I've only just found out that the love of my life is in love with someone else. I don't need this right now."

Alya looked awkward guilty, biting her lip as she rubbed her arm. "Sorry."

Marinette sighed. "It's okay. I just want to go ho –"

"Alya, there you are!" Nino's voice interrupted Marinette as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere before scooping Alya up into his arms and hugging her tightly. "I'm so glad you're alright! Adrien and I got trapped in a café and the police wouldn't let us out because of the akuma attack!"

"Hey, put me down you big softy," Alya joked, but still squeezing Nino back just as tightly.

Nino eventually put her down, but they kept their arms wrapped around each other, leaving Marinette feeling like an awkward third wheel. Seeing them together caused a horrific thought to occur. Since their best friends were dating, that would mean that Marinette wouldn't be able to avoid Adrien. She would likely have to deal with watching as the love of her life dated Kagami. The thought sliced her directly through the heart, leaving her chest feeling cold and tight.

Misery overwhelmed her again, and she quickly looked away in embarrassment when both Nino and Alya noticed this. She could feel Alya's sympathetic eyes on her as the two of them struggled to think of something helpful to say.

"Where _is_ Adrien?" Alya asked, looking around cautiously.

"He was with me in the café," Nino explained, "only he went to the bathroom and vanished, and I haven't been able to find him. I thought that he might be here."

"I am here," a voice that led to another slash of Marinette's heart spoke up.

Adrien finished walking towards them, looking relieved to see them all safe. Marinette, however, just couldn't bear to bring herself to look at him. It was just too much. Seeing him ripped open the wounds that were now covering her body, leaving her bleeding everywhere and in an immense amount of pain. All she wanted to do was burst into tears. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and cry out her feelings for him. She wanted him to take her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. To tell her that he didn't really love Kagami, and that he had just said that because he was too scared to admit his feelings for her. Then they would embrace and everything would be alright.

But real life didn't play out like a fantasy.

Instead, all Adrien did was stand there, completely oblivious to everything that was going on inside her head right now. It was best that it stayed that way. Marinette wasn't sure if she could deal with the added embarrassment, or guilt over possibly making Adrien feel guilty. She didn't want things to be more awkward between them than they already were.

"Do you guys want to head back to the café and get something to drink?" Adrien offered.

Alya and Nino looked at Marinette awkwardly, their loyalties obviously very torn by the situation. Marinette decided it was best to save them and take herself out of the equation.

"Umm, thanks for the offer, but I think I'm going to head home," Marinette tried to say as politely as she could, cringing as her voice began shaking in certain parts.

She still couldn't look at Adrien, instead, she wrapped her arms around herself and looked away, using her dark hair to shield as much of her face as possible.

"Oh." Adrien sounded a little bit upset at that. "Are you okay, Marinette?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Marinette managed to stammer out. "I think I'm just feeling a little bit unwell."

"Do you need any help?" Adrien offered. "We could stay with you and hang out at your house if that's what you'd prefer? I don't mind helping you out."

No, really, I'm fine," Marinette insisted, "I just need some space and alone time. I wouldn't want you guys catching it after all. I'll be fine, you guys just go on without me and have fun."

Adrien looked stunned and confused, obviously sensing that something was wrong.

"Are you sure?" Alya asked, sounding concerned.

"Of course I am," Marinette said as she shooed them away, "don't let me ruin your fun. Like I said, I'll be fine."

"Alright then…" Alya didn't sound too sure as the three of them began to walk off unwillingly, Adrien still staring at her in confusion, though Marinette quickly looked away.

"I'll see you later," Marinette mumbled as she began walking off in the opposite direction.

She could feel their eyes boring holes into the back of her head as she continued to walk away. She placed her hands in her pockets, biting her lip as it took every last ounce of her willpower not to turn around. Her eyes began to sting once again, but Marinette fought the tears back. She felt so ridiculous and babyish for crying like this over Adrien. But soon, she would be back in her room, with no one but Tikki for company just like she wanted it. Then she could finally start to process what had just happened.

When she made it back to her family's bakery, Marinette snuck in through the back door, not wanting to have to face her parents and continue to put on a normal or cheery façade so that they wouldn't worry about her. Right now, Marinette just wanted to be left alone. She needed to clear her head and needed some space to breathe. No doubt if her parents knew that she was upset they would swarm all over her, hovering over her and asking all sorts of questions that Marinette just couldn't face right now.

Luckily, she managed to sneak upstairs and into the empty apartment. She quickly shut the world out before making her way up into her bedroom. She slowly shut the door behind her before collapsing down on top of it, unable to hold the tears back any longer. She vaguely felt Tikki flying out of her purse before snuggling up to her in an effort to provide some sort of comfort.

"I feel so confused and lost, Tikki," Marinette sobbed out.

"Everything will be fine, Marinette, you'll see," Tikki reassured her softly.

As much as Marinette wanted to believe her beloved kwami, her mind had now been filled with doubt and mistrust after today's events. Her heart ached, and her shoulders began to slump in defeat. Today had certainly not gone as planned. Marinette was now left feeling more miserable, awkward, lonely and insecure than ever.

Adrien didn't have feelings for her. Her hopes and dreams had been squashed.

He loved another.

As Marinette prepared to push herself up off the floor to bury herself under her covers in bed, the piece of paper with Luka's number on it fell out of her pocket.

Marinette froze and picked it up before examining it again. Spending some time with Luka was probably the only silver lining she could find in an otherwise awful day. He had listened to her and been there for her. He had played her a song to help calm her down. He didn't judge her. He had told her that he would be there for her, despite the fact that they barely knew each other.

Yet…it already felt like they had some sort of deep connection.

All of these confusing thoughts continued to swirl around in Marinette's mind as she continued to stare down at Luka's number, her own advice from earlier echoing around and around, as the thought of Luka and his kindness provided her with a source of life and warmth in the otherwise cold and dark void.

* * *

 **Poor Marinette, but it looks like things are developing in other areas of her life. What do you guys think? Will she give Luka a call at some point? Also, I apologise if this chapter wasn't written that well as I've had a bit of a hectic day, so finishing this chapter off was an exhausting nightmare. But I hope that you can't tell. You guys be the judge by letting me know your thoughts in a review. It always really helps me out. See you next Monday.**


	7. There's Something Going On

**I'm back! I'm so sorry about almost completely disappearing and not updating last week. I just really needed a week off because I was so stressed and needed some time to re-charge. I hope that you guys understand. I felt so guilty about doing it, but it needed to be done, otherwise the quality of my work would have started to heavily suffer. But I'm back now, and updating will be going back to normal, so there will hopefully be a new chapter for this story every Monday. Thank you so much for your patience and for your amazing reviews!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: There's Something Going On**

A strange feeling began to almost overpower Adrien as he watched Marinette's retreating form. Something within him was telling him to run after her, that something was wrong, and that he needed to talk to her. The instinct was so overwhelming that it froze Adrien in place, rendering him unable to blink as he watched her leave. It felt like a rope had been tied around his heart, squeezing and tugging on it, with the pull seeming to be coming from Marinette.

Was Marinette okay?

There was something about her today that seemed…different. She didn't seem to be acting like her usual bubbly and happy self. It was very jarring to witness, to a point where he almost didn't believe that was Marinette that had been standing in front of him. It was like some sort of imposter had replaced her. But even Adrien knew that the happiest and most optimistic person in his class could have bad days.

Had something upset her? Had he done something wrong? Maybe he was just being paranoid, but it really felt like that her odd behaviour was because of him. He was used to Marinette acting a little strange around him sometimes, stammering and tripping over her own feet, but he had never seen her behave this way before. He had never seen her look so…so…miserable.

It was heart-breaking to see. She was so beautifully dressed that it made Adrien wonder if she had other plans. Had she been let down? Was she planning on going somewhere later? If so, where? Adrien quickly mentally slapped himself for having such nosey thoughts. It was none of his business what Marinette got up to. But still, where was the harm in expressing concern? He only wished that maybe he could have been more there for her, rather than just standing there like a confused idiot. Maybe her strange behaviour was some sort of cry for help?

But then again, Nino and Alya had also been acting slightly strange today too. Were they hiding something from him? He didn't like to think bad of his friends and accuse them of keeping secrets from him (after all, he was one to talk), but everything about what had happened today felt incredibly weird. From the specific way that Nino had led him into the park to the way he suddenly made them both bail; from the probing questions about his possible crush to his almost guilty and worried behaviour afterwards.

Not to mention there was also Ladybug's weird behaviour. Had Adrien woken up in some sort of alternate reality? Because that was certainly how it was starting to feel.

"Hey, Adrien, bro, aren't you coming?" Nino asked, jolting Adrien out of his deep thoughts.

He shook his head slightly, and his eyes refocused back on reality. Marinette was gone. That realisation stung him, though Adrien wasn't really too sure why. Maybe he was just worried about her being left out or because of how sad she seemed. Those were the only explanations that Adrien could come up with, but they made sense.

"Oh…errr…yeah," were the only words that Adrien managed to force out, his mind still a confused mess.

Nino and Alya shot him a weird look, walking on ahead of him while Adrien trailed behind with his hands in his jean pockets as he stared down at the sidewalk. He could feel Plagg shift slightly in his shirt pocket as he engorged himself on a piece of cheese. The movement of his kwami unfortunately reminded him of Ladybug. She was almost acting like Marinette was. She had seemed incredibly sad and frustrated as they both fought against Medusa.

Had something been wrong with Ladybug as well?

Adrien thought back to the fight, wracking his brain for anything he might have missed that might explain Ladybug's puzzling behaviour. He couldn't really think of anything though. The only thing about the whole fight that stood out to him was how she acted around…around…Luka…

A deep anger began to claw away at his chest, and Adrien almost tripped over as he continued to follow his two best friends. However, he quickly caught his footing before anyone could notice. His anger never faded though. It was like a feral monster was trying to take control of his brain. Memories of Luka and Ladybug embracing only intensified the feeling. The way they held each other close, so familiar, so caring, and so tender. It made Adrien feel sick.

He was getting the exact same feeling that he'd gotten when Théo had shown signs of having a crush on Ladybug. Adrien had tried to put him off, but that had only made the situation worse. So the thought of trying to do that to Luka was immediately off the table. Adrien would have to be much sneakier with this one.

Adrien's eyes then widened, and he wanted to slap himself. What was he thinking? How could he think such cruel thoughts? He wasn't even one hundred percent sure if there was even anything going on. It just could have been a case of another grateful citizen, embracing Ladybug as thanks for having saved their life. Plenty of people did it, and Adrien never once got jealous. The whole situation could have been completely innocent.

But there was something about that embrace that seemed…different. It was long, drawn out, and way more familiar than Adrien would have expected or liked to see. And why had Ladybug been so defensive about the whole thing afterwards if it had all been innocent? Adrien really felt like he was missing something important. It was like a huge puzzle piece was missing, preventing him from seeing the big picture.

However, Adrien could no longer try to think the situation as they finally arrived back at the café that he and Nino had been sitting in earlier. Adrien wondered if Nino would be just as cagey as he was when they had been together in here before. Maybe now he could finally try to get some answers out of the two of them. Adrien definitely knew that something was going on, and that Alya and Nino were hiding something from him.

Luckily, Alya picked a table for them that was in the corner by the large bay window that looked out onto the street. The café wasn't too busy, mainly filled with smartly dressed businessmen, drinking a cup of coffee or tea as they read a newspaper. Adrien sighed as he sat down on the wooden chair, trying to find the right words to begin questioning his friends.

"Adrien?" the sound of someone calling his name startled him.

"Huh? What?"

Alya chuckled and rolled her eyes before repeating what she had obviously tried to say to Adrien while he was busy daydreaming. "Do you want anything?"

"Oh – umm – no thank you," Adrien replied, feeling his stomach twisting itself into knots.

"Are you sure?" Alya asked, furrowing her eyebrows slightly in concern.

"I'm sure," Adrien insisted, clamping his hands together on the table as he tried to offer Alya a reassuring smile, though he was sure that he was failing.

He knew that there was no way he could eat or drink anything right now. He was too lost in his own thoughts, his stomach twisting nervously at the thought that something might be wrong.

Alya looked at him oddly before kissing Nino on the cheek and heading off towards the counter to order whatever she and Nino wanted. Adrien looked away awkwardly, beginning to feel like a bit of a third wheel. His mind wandered to thoughts of Ladybug, as they often did. He daydreamed about him and Ladybug maybe one day being like that. Sitting together for coffee, maybe having finally revealed their secret identities to each other. They would kiss each other and hold each other, just like Nino and Alya did.

"Hey, dude, are you okay?" Nino asked, bringing Adrien back down from his fantasies with a painful bump.

"Huh? What? Oh…yeah, I'm fine."

"You've been away with the fairies pretty much all morning," Nino noted. "Thinking about K-Kagami?"

Adrien didn't miss the way that Nino weirdly stumbled over her name. He could feel his cheeks turning pink, though no doubt Nino would misinterpret this as embarrassment. Adrien really wanted to slap himself for blurting out Kagami's name, but it was the first believable name that popped into his head. No doubt if Adrien admitted that it was Ladybug, then everyone would probably just see it as a stupid crush. But it was more than that. He really truly loved her. He couldn't bear the idea of people laughing at the connection that Adrien felt with her.

"Oh…yeah," Adrien lied before he could stop himself.

He really wanted to slap himself for digging himself into this huge hole. He just hoped that word didn't get to Kagami. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her or hurt her feelings, or even embarrass them both, because it was highly likely that Kagami didn't have feelings for him. She was just a good friend and fencing partner, and his father and her mother were excellent business partners, meaning that Adrien often acted as her escort at important events.

"I had no idea, man," Nino continued, looking shocked. "When did you first start crushing on her?"

"Oh…well…ummm…"

Adrien's stuttering lie was saved by Alya arriving back at the table, placing a warm cup of hot chocolate and a pastry in front of Nino. His eyes immediately lit up as he glanced down at it, seemingly immediately forgetting the conversation that he and Adrien were having as he began to dig in. Alya rolled her eyes and gently sipped at her tea before she turned towards Adrien.

"Don't tell me that you're on some sort of weird model diet," Alya joked.

"No, no not at all," Adrien rushed to explain, "I'm just…not feeling too good I guess."

"Maybe what Marinette has is catching," Nino spoke with his mouth full before he yelled in pain as no doubt Alya had just kicked him from under the table.

"Speaking of Marinette, maybe we should all go and check on her when we're finished here," Adrien suggested.

"No!" both Nino and Alya yelled at the exact same time.

Adrien stared at them both in alarm.

"W-what we mean is that…" Alya fumbled over her words. "When Marinette is ill, she often just likes to be left alone to rest. Besides, she's probably sleeping it off, so it's probably best not to disturb her."

Adrien felt concern flooding through his body once again at the thought of Marinette. She did seem a little off. Her skin was pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her eyes had also been slightly red, like she hadn't gotten enough sleep, or maybe she had even been crying. But she didn't exactly look _sick_ sick. Then again, who was Adrien to make that judgement? Yet there was still something about the whole situation that felt weird.

"Are you sure she's okay?" Adrien continued to press, trying to see if he could break his friends. "Because she almost looked like she had been crying."

Nino nearly choked on his food.

"Crying?" Alya gasped out. "Marinette? No way, she's totally fine. Just sick like I said."

"You guys are acting really weird," Adrien voiced his suspicions as he narrowed his eyes at them.

"We're acting weird? We're not the ones who blurted out we had a crush on Kagami out of the blue instead of –" Nino was cut off by another swift kick from Alya.

"Instead of?"

"No one!" Alya quickly answered. "What Nino means to say –" she shot him a glare "– is that it probably came as quite the shock since you have so many adoring fans and followers that you could take your pick from."

"Wait…" Adrien's face turned red in horror. "You know too?"

Alya gulped. "Oh – errr – yeah. Nino told me a little bit earlier."

"Nino! That was meant to be a secret!" Adrien growled out, glaring at his best friend.

Nino held his hands up defensively. "Hey, sorry, dude, but she is my girlfriend."

Adrien sighed in defeat before looking down sadly. This was just great. He really wished that he could just go back in time and take all of those words back. He shouldn't have said anything. He should have just lied and kept insisting that he didn't have a crush on anyone. Or better yet, he should have done a better job at keeping his feelings under wraps and not being too obvious with his behaviour. He could have saved himself from all of this trouble.

"How long have you had a crush on her?" Alya asked, repeating Nino's unanswered question from earlier. "Was it when you first met?"

Adrien shrugged. "I don't know, I suppose so."

"Gee, and they say romance is dead. You don't exactly sound like a love-struck puppy when you talk about her," Alya noted, raising her eyebrow suspiciously.

Damn Alya and her scrupulous investigation skills.

"Oh, well, I wouldn't call it love per say, it's just a silly crush. Nothing will probably ever happen anyway," Adrien explained casually and apathetically, trying to weasel his way out of the situation.

"A crush?" Nino chuckled. "Dude, you've been sighing and smiling to yourself when you start daydreaming for months on end now. So don't tell me that whatever you're feeling is just a crush."

A worried look formed on Alya's face.

"Can we stop talking about this now, please?" Adrien demanded, growing increasingly uncomfortable.

Nino and Alya both slouched back in their seats, looking slightly disappointed and annoyed. However, it wasn't long before Alya perked up again.

"Since you say that nothing might ever happen, is there any other girl, maybe even a girl in our class who you could see yourself dating?" Alya quizzed, leaning forward as she desperately waited for Adrien's answer.

However, Adrien merely stared back at Alya in confusion. He wasn't sure why, but Marinette's face immediately invaded his mind at Alya's question, though he quickly dismissed it. He probably only thought of her because he was so worried about her right now. The thought of Ladybug then entered his mind. She was always this beautiful, almost unattainable goddess, whereas Adrien on the other hand, was only a humble mortal who could never measure up or compare to her. Through all his trying, Ladybug never seemed to look twice at him. Sure she cared about him as a friend, but Adrien wanted more than that.

Unfortunately, with the way things were going, it looked like that was never going to happen. There were moments where Adrien regained his faith that maybe they could become more than friends one day, but that would always end up being crushed at some point or another. Ladybug had revealed to him that she loved another boy. Whoever this boy was, he was certainly lucky indeed, and Adrien desperately wished that he could take his place in his lady's heart.

"No, not really," Adrien finally admitted, unable to keep Ladybug off his mind.

She was the only person that he could ever see himself with. From the very first time that he met her, he knew that she was the one for him. He had fallen head over heels in love with her, adoring her courage, her tenacity, her caring nature and her passion for helping others and saving the people of Paris. She was perfect in every way. Everything about her was so irresistible.

"Are you sure?" Alya prodded, and this time, it was her turn to be kicked from under the table.

She and Nino glared at each other.

Adrien chuckled awkwardly. "Why are you guys so obsessed with my love life anyway?"

"Because you're our friend and we want to help," Nino explained.

"But I don't need any help. I've said it before and I'll say it again: you guys have been acting really weird today." Adrien once again glared at them suspiciously. "What's really going on here?"

"Nothing!" Alya and Nino shrieked at the same time.

"Does this have something to do with Marinette?"

"No! No no no no. No way."

Adrien huffed in defeat. He knew that they were both hiding something; it was painfully obvious. Unfortunately though, it didn't look like he would be getting the answer out of them anytime soon. Maybe he could find another way to figure out what was going on. Maybe he could ask Marinette herself. Just because Alya and Nino were against visiting her, it didn't mean that Adrien couldn't secretly go on his own. He hated the idea of disturbing her, but he hated the idea of her being upset over something a lot more. If Alya and Nino weren't going to try and help her, then Adrien would.

Having decided what he was going to do, Adrien abruptly stood up from his seat.

"I just remembered that I have some extra Chinese lessons booked for this afternoon," Adrien lied, "so I better get going. I'll see you guys later."

Before Alya and Nino could even reply, Adrien quickly left the café, determined to make sure that Marinette was okay and maybe get to the bottom of what was going on. He knew that he wouldn't have peace of mind unless he saw Marinette. Maybe she really was ill, but Adrien's gut was telling him that there was something more to it than that.

He grew nervous as he arrived outside the Dupain-Cheng family bakery. Tom and Sabine were busy serving a customer inside, and there was no sign of Marinette helping them like she would often do. He tried to look up at the building, hoping to perhaps catch sight of her in her bedroom window or on her balcony. No dice though.

Taking a deep breath, Adrien entered the bakery, and Tom and Sabine's face lit up as soon as they saw him.

"Adrien, hi!" Sabine greeted cheerfully.

"What can we do for you?" Tom asked.

"Oh, I – umm – I was hoping to see Marinette," Adrien responded awkwardly, attempting to keep his posture straight and his hands behind his back.

He could feel his cheeks heating up slightly, and he just hoped that Marinette's parents wouldn't think that this was weird. After all, he had been in their apartment before, and had even been in Marinette's room, so hopefully they would trust him enough to let him in. Tom and Sabine had always been very warm and welcoming towards him, but he still hoped that they didn't feel like he was intruding or imposing.

"We thought she was with you, dear?" Sabine frowned worriedly.

"She was. But she – errr – came home earlier, saying that she wasn't feeling well. So I thought I would come and see if she was okay," Adrien explained slightly bashfully.

"I never heard her come home," Sabine said as she turned to Tom worriedly.

"She probably came in through the back door," Tom tried to reassure her, though he sounded slightly concerned himself.

"Well, I could check and make sure and tell you if she's not there?" Adrien offered.

Tom and Sabine smiled at him.

"Go ahead," Sabine encouraged, "I'm sure you know your way around. Come straight back down and tell us if she's not there."

"Will do," Adrien replied as he was already heading behind the counter and into the hallway.

He dashed up the stairs as quickly as he could before pausing outside the front door of their apartment. He completely froze, gulping as a large lump formed in his throat. Why was he getting so nervous? He was just checking on his friend. It wasn't like he was about to ask Marinette out on a date or something. He really needed to get a grip.

Biting his lip, Adrien gently tapped on the door, fervently hoping that Marinette was okay. He sighed with relief when he heard light footsteps inside, a smile forming on his face knowing that she was home safe and sound.

"I thought I told you that I wanted to be left alone, Alya," Marinette sighed out before freezing as she opened the door and looked up to see Adrien standing there instead. "A-Adrien…"

"Hey," Adrien responded lamely.

"What are you doing here?" Marinette asked, her emotions suddenly becoming shielded behind a mask as she stared up at him blankly.

Was it Adrien's imagination or was there a slightly cold edge to her tone?

"I…I just thought I would check on you and make sure that you're okay."

"I'm fine," Marinette replied flatly.

"Are you sure? Because I can get you something or help you out with anything if you need it?" Adrien rushed to offer, not liking the strange heavy atmosphere that had suddenly appeared between the two of them.

 _Had_ Adrien done something to upset her?

Marinette's mask slipped slightly as her shoulders slouched and her expression became disheartened.

"I said, I'm fine. Don't worry."

Marinette _almost_ sounded like her usual self when she said that. Or at least, the coldness had disappeared from her tone. She still sounded crestfallen and like something was deeply troubling her though. Had something happened and that maybe Marinette just didn't want to talk about it? Had he missed something before they had come across each other in the park? Adrien really wished that he could figure out what was wrong. The whole situation was making him increasingly paranoid, worried and on edge.

"Thank you for checking up on me."

Marinette's broken sounding voice snapped Adrien back into reality.

"But I'm really busy right now," Marinette added, closing the door in Adrien's face.

All Adrien could do was stand there and stare at the wooden door that had suddenly appeared in front of his face within a split second. The action hurt him more than he thought it would. It pierced through his heart, making him feel guilty and rejected. He had never seen Marinette act this way before. It was most out of character.

Okay, that settled it. There was definitely something going on.

* * *

 **Me thinks that Adrien is in some serious denial. That poor boy is just so oblivious to his own feelings, what do you guys think? I do apologise if this chapter felt a bit like filler. Sometimes it's just painfully necessary. Once again, thank you guys so much for your patience with this chapter. Like I said, this story will be once again hopefully be updated every Monday. You can always follow me on Twitter if you want to keep up to date with my writing and updating. Until next week, please feel free to let me know your opinions on the chapter as it helps me out a great deal. I hope that you're all well and I'll see you next week!**


	8. Inner Pandemonium

**Hey guys, I'm really sorry for vanishing again. I really needed to re-set myself and catch up on some work, which all got further delayed by me getting ill last week. Hopefully now I can finally get back into my schedule. I'm feeling confident that I can, but I don't wanna jinx myself. I'm definitely gonna try though. I hope you're all okay and thank you so much for all of your amazing reviews! You guys are awesome!**

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 **Chapter 8: Inner Pandemonium**

There was no way this was ever going to work. But Marinette was honestly desperate to try anything at this point. If completing all of her homework super early might help distract her chaotic mind, then so be it. She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night, so there was also every chance that she would ruin all of her work and get bad grades on them. But no matter how much Marinette begged her mind to calm down and let her get some rest, it refused to listen.

Seeing Adrien coming to check on her had only now made everything worse.

Her heart felt like it was being split into two, both sides being yanked in the opposite direction as the two sides tried desperately to cling onto each other. She wasn't even sure what the two sides of her heart were being pulled towards. Right now, all that Marinette could focus on was just how painful it was. She had been tossing and turning all night because of that painful feeling in her chest. The rest of her body felt completely hollow, and Marinette had been beginning to worry that she would float out of her bed and into a stormy sky where there was no hope of rescue.

Everything felt like pure pandemonium. All of her feelings were being mixed up in a huge, unrecognisable concoction that was beginning to burn away her insides, the pain of it leaving her unable to even begin to try and focus on what was going on inside her mind. Her brain had transformed into a mushy mess that refused to allow Marinette one coherent thought.

The tiredness probably wasn't helping, but Marinette just also felt so lost and confused right now. She had hoped that maybe she would feel better today, but in all honesty, she felt much worse. She had longed for nothing more than to just lay in bed all day. Her eyes were dry and burning as they begged for sleep, her head was pounding, her heart was aching, and all Marinette wanted to do was bury herself away from the world, deep under her covers where it was soft and warm. She wanted to find a place where nobody could hurt her.

No such look though.

Not to mention, her parents would grow really worried and suspicious if she stayed in bed all day, especially since that really wasn't like her. Since it was Sunday, the bakery closed early, and her parents had taken the opportunity to enjoy some quality time together, and headed out to someplace that Marinette couldn't remember. She just about registered her mother telling her that they were going out and that was about it. Though she was kind of glad since she wanted nothing more than to be alone today. She didn't know if she could bring herself to face anyone.

The embarrassment was too much, and Marinette could feel her face heating up even though there wasn't anyone around. Her friends must be thinking about how silly and desperate she was. No doubt Nino and Alya pitied her. Adrien probably thought she was really weird, and Luka…Luka probably thought she was a massive dork. She wasn't sure if she could ever show her face in public again.

She just hoped that no one else in class found out, but no doubt they would. She began to feel sick at the mere thought of having to face everyone in school tomorrow. She felt sick at the thought of having to sit behind Adrien, staring at him all day and knowing that he could never be hers. She would have to watch as he headed off to his fencing class after school, knowing that Kagami was going to be there. Maybe he would even work up the courage to ask her out. The next time she saw Adrien, he and Kagami might be an item! Marinette just didn't know if she was ready to stomach that. She wanted to be happy for Adrien, she really did. But at the same time, it was hard to control the raging jealousy and anguish inside her. No matter how much she tried to keep it buried far, far down, it always sprung back up with even greater force than before.

She thought that Adrien didn't care about her. Yet he had shown up yesterday asking if she was okay. Marinette wasn't sure how much more confusion she could take. It wasn't fair. Why was the universe doing this to her? She had wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around Adrien and confess everything, but at the same time, she couldn't bear to be around him. It hurt too much.

"Marinette!" a high pitched voice snapped Marinette out of her deep thoughts before she gasped in surprise as she felt the tip of her pencil break under the weight she had been pressing down on it.

Pieces of graphite scattered across her books and papers, and she had almost dug a hole right through her chemistry homework. Marinette knew that if she ripped or damaged it anymore, then Ms. Mendeleive would probably have her head. Her desk was a mess and completely disorganised, and Marinette had no idea how long she had been lost in thought.

"Huh? What?" Marinette shook her head and looked around before her eyes finally landed on Tikki's concerned blue ones.

"I thought that you might be about to break a hole through the table," Tikki spoke quietly, talking to Marinette almost as if she was as fragile as the thinnest glass that might break with any sudden movement or noise.

"Oh." Marinette blinked before turning to glance back down at her work miserably.

"Marinette…" Tikki tried to say as carefully as possible before she sighed and flew in front of Marinette, sitting down on the largest pile of books. Her kwami was now eye level with her, though Marinette didn't know if she could bring herself to look at one of her dearest friends. She didn't want to talk about it. She wasn't in the mood for anybody's pity.

"I'm fine, Tikki," Marinette insisted.

"Your actions say otherwise though. I'm really worried about you," Tikki admitted, her voice soft and gentle.

"Well you don't need to be because I'm fine. I'm just tired." Marinette tried to force herself to concentrate on her work, but no matter how many times she read the same line of text, the words just weren't sinking in or registering with her.

"I'm not surprised with how little sleep you got last night," Tikki sighed out, "and even when you did fall asleep for a little a while, you were tossing and turning the entire time."

Marinette dropped her pencil, as well as her tough and defensive act. She pushed herself away from her desk slightly and slouched down, giving up trying to concentrate on her work. Even if she could, there was no way that Tikki was going to let this subject drop. She was touched that her kwami cared so much, but at the same time, Marinette just wanted to be left alone to wallow in her own misery. She wanted to embrace yet push Tikki away at the exact same time.

She was so…so…

"Oh, Tikki," Marinette began crying, "I'm so confused."

Marinette curled up into the tightest ball possible in the middle of her chair. She just wished that the world would swallow her up and then she would never have to face anything or anyone ever again. Maybe that would be for the best. Then maybe she would stop making things awkward for everyone. Adrien would never even know that she was missing, and he could happily get on with his life, marry Kagami, and have three kids, a dog and a hamster. That was a future that Marinette just obviously wasn't meant to have.

"Why are you confused?" Tikki asked gently, and Marinette could feel her small kwami curl up inside the nook between her neck and shoulder.

Tikki's presence and touch was incredibly warm and comforting. Marinette couldn't talk to anyone the way she could talk to Tikki. Her kwami knew everything about her, and she was the only creature that Marinette could bear her soul to. Her whole life had now turned into nothing but secrets and lies, but at the same time, she had gained such a wonderful and true friend in the form of Tikki.

"I was right about my bad feeling yesterday," Marinette struggled to speak as she sniffed and sobbed. "I was just deluding myself. Of course Adrien doesn't have feelings for me, and I've now embarrassed myself in front of everyone. I thought that he didn't care about me but…but…why did he visit me yesterday afternoon?"

"Oh Marinette, I'm sure that Adrien does care for you," Tikki tried to explain. "I think he cares about you a great deal, otherwise why would he have come to check on you yesterday?"

"That's what's confusing me so much! He came to see me…on his own…I…I just don't know what to think or what to do!" Marinette stuttered out before collapsing into a fresh round of tears.

"Well…I do think Adrien cares about you…but maybe…maybe not quite in the way that you really want to him to…" Tikki sounded really awkward and almost like she was trying to hold something back. "Though I must admit, I was quite shocked when he admitted that it was Kagami that he had feelings for. It doesn't really make much sense."

"Really? Why?" Marinette could feel herself getting her hopes up slightly as she attempted to dry her eyes.

Tikki was silent, and she could feel her kwami going rigid against her neck. Why was Tikki being so cagey all of a sudden? Was she hiding her true feelings and views from her? Marinette didn't like the sound of that. Maybe Tikki also thought that Marinette was desperate and deluded. She was just probably trying to find a way to word it so that she wouldn't hurt Marinette's feelings. But the meaning would be the same. Marinette _had_ deluded herself. She _had_ been desperate.

Maybe that's why Adrien always seemed so uncomfortable around her. Even yesterday, there was an awkward edge to his words and behaviour, though Marinette wasn't really sure why. But then again, why had he come to check on her? Was he just trying to be nice? That seemed highly likely, but that didn't really explain his odd behaviour.

Marinette quickly found herself giving up trying to find an explanation. What was the point? It wouldn't be an explanation that Marinette wanted to hear. It wouldn't change anything. She would still be heartbroken, and Adrien would still have feelings for Kagami. So what was the point in torturing herself? She should just learn to move on, and the first step in doing that was attempting to stop overly caring about Adrien's thoughts and feelings. He was now just a friend to her, and that was all he was ever going to be. So Marinette would need to learn to downgrade her feelings towards him.

Marinette felt like she was going to throw up again.

"Oh, it doesn't really matter," Tikki finally answered Marinette's question after what felt like an eternity. "It's just that, it really did sound like he was talking about you. Especially because of that poem."

Marinette sighed, pushing herself closer to her desk again before she picked up her pencil again in the hopes that she could distract herself again now that she had gotten most of her bottled up emotions out of her system. However, she now felt even more tired than she had done previously, and her eyes felt swollen and were stinging more than before. It felt like someone was punching the inside of her skull, trying to burst it open at the forehead, applying more and more pressure each time.

She just wished that she could stop thinking about it. She wished that she could be herself with someone else besides Tikki. She wished that she had someone else to talk to who wasn't judgemental or dismissive. As much as she loved her best friend, Alya, she could be dismissive of her feelings sometimes and offer advice that was easier said than done. Sometimes she just wished that she had a friend who would properly listen to her.

Letting out a huff of air, Marinette accidentally blew some of her loose papers all over the place. This only made her feel worse. She just wanted to throw herself to the floor, stare up at the ceiling and let out the loudest scream that she could muster up. But she knew that wouldn't solve anything. So with an annoyed sigh, Marinette bent down so that she could pick up the papers that had dropped onto the floor.

However, she soon froze when she caught sight of a small piece of paper that had been buried underneath the ones she had picked up. Already knowing what it was, Marinette nervously picked it up before sitting up again and staring down at the numbers. Seeing this again just confused her even more. It must have gotten mixed up with her homework when she had hastily picked everything up and dumped it on her desk.

She had been so tempted to call the number last night. She came so close to adding Luka into her contacts, but every time she tried, something kept stopping her. Something deep inside her kept telling her that she was betraying Adrien. But she wasn't. Was she? Adrien didn't have feelings for her, Luka didn't have feelings for her, and Marinette didn't have feelings for Luka. He was just a friend who offered her his number out of kindness.

So why still couldn't she bring herself to call him? The same thoughts as last night began swirling around inside Marinette's mind again.

No. She didn't want to inconvenience Luka. Besides, wouldn't it look weird if she called him literally the day after she had gotten her number? Luka had his own friends. He didn't need one of his little sister's friends hanging around him, boring him with her silly problems. But he had been so kind to her. And if he didn't want to risk any of that happening, why give her his number?

Marinette groaned, tightly clutching the piece of paper in her hands, half of her wanting to tear it up and the other half desperately wanting her to make that call. What would she even say though? It was all well and good wanting to call someone, but if she didn't know what to say, then she was just likely to creep Luka out even more than she probably had done.

"Is that Luka's number?" Tikki asked.

"No!" Marinette yelled defensively, immediately burying it under her work again. "It was just a piece of scrap paper."

She couldn't bring herself to look at Tikki, but she already knew that her kwami didn't buy her response for one second.

"It's alright, Marinette, you don't need to hide stuff out of embarrassment."

"Hiding stuff? I'm not hiding stuff. And I've got nothing to be embarrassed about either." Marinette could feel her cheeks flushing as she doodled around the outside of her worksheet, once again pressing down on the pencil unnecessarily hard.

"If you have feelings for this other boy, it's perfectly norm –"

Marinette quickly cut her kwami off, her face growing even hotter. "Feelings? Who said anything about feelings? Luka was just really kind to me and there for me when I needed him. He's a really good friend and that's it. There's nothing more between us."

Tikki narrowed her eyes. "Well either way, I advise you to tread carefully. You don't want to go rushing into anything, not with the way you're currently feeling."

"I'm fine, Tikki," Marinette sighed out, beginning to relax again at her kwami's concern. "You don't have to worry about me because I'm not going to do anything. For now, I just want to focus on myself, stay mostly locked in my room and away from everybody el –"

"Knock knock, it's Alya!" a voice shouted from behind Marinette's hatch door.

Marinette shrieked in surprise, and Tikki managed to hide just in time before Alya burst the door open, beaming up at her friend, her trusty phone in her hand like always. All Marinette could do was stare back in alarm and confusion, her heart beating a million miles per minute from the sudden shock.

"Wha…wha…how?" Marinette managed to squeak out in panic. She really hoped that Alya hadn't just heard her talking to Tikki, but she didn't look like someone who had just heard their best friend randomly talking when they should have been alone.

"I bumped into your parents on my way here and they gave me their extra keys and told me to just let myself in. I thought that it would be a nice surprise for you since you haven't returned any of my calls or messages." Alya frowned at her playfully.

Marinette sighed. "I'm sorry, I just…I don't really feel like talking to anyone today."

Alya gasped before engulfing Marinette in a huge hug. "We can't have that! We need the happy and positive Marinette back again! Hey, why don't we do something together to take your mind off things?"

"I'm not really in the mood," Marinette mumbled, awkwardly returning Alya's embrace as she began to feel like she was being suffocated.

Alya then finally turned serious as she finally pulled away and leaned against Marinette's desk. "I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday. If I had known…I…well…y'know."

"Yeah…"

"And listen," Alya spoke softly as she leaned down slightly to catch Marinette's eye, "people do care about you and love you. Even Adrien does too. I know things might feel like the end of the world right now, but you'll feel a lot better soon. You just need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep pressing forward. And in time, you might meet someone else nice who will return your feelings."

"Thanks, Alya," Marinette said as she could feel an actual small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Alya's words had helped her slightly, but still, nothing could get rid of the painful emptiness that she was now feeling inside. An Adrien shaped hole had been left in her heart, and no one would be able to re-fill it. She would be stuck with this pain forever.

Her eyes couldn't help but dart back to Luka's number still scrunched up in her right hand. Talking to him yesterday had been so freeing. She felt so comfortable around Luka, and she always felt like she could just be herself when she was with him. He never seemed to judge her, despite how many times she had made a fool of herself in front of him. He seemed to understand her more than anyone, translating her emotions into perfect melodies that Marinette could listen to all day long. His music was always so soothing and comforting, embedding itself deep into her soul and spreading heat throughout her entire body.

It wasn't long before Alya's eyes followed her gaze, and Marinette quickly looked away and tightened her grip on the small piece of paper. Now she'd done it.

"Is that what I think it is?" Alya narrowed her eyes suspiciously, a smirk forming on her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Marinette tried to lie.

"You little liar, that's Luka's number isn't it?"

"N-no."

Before Marinette could even react, Alya had lurched forward, making a grab for Marinette's clenched fist. Marinette gasped and fell backwards, the two of them beginning to wrestle each other on the floor. As Alya pinned her down and tried to reach for the paper, Marinette kept herself curled into a tight ball, keeping her fist pressed against her chest. She wouldn't release her grip no matter how much her best friend clawed at her hand.

However, Marinette soon froze before flinching in reflex as she began to feel a light sensation against her side. The giggles exploded from her mouth before she could register what was happening, and the tickling sensation only grew worse as Alya grew even more determined. One hand kept tickling her waist while one hand kept trying to reach for the paper. Marinette kept trying to push Alya's hands away, but doing so would mean loosening her grip on the paper. She was trapped.

"S-st-stop!" Marinette begged, tears forming in her eyes as she continued to laugh uncontrollably.

"Not until you surrender!" Alya proclaimed before making another grab for the paper.

Marinette's hand had loosened its grip without her even realising, and Alya seized her chance. She snatched the paper out of Marinette's hand before climbing off her friend and inspecting the numbers. Meanwhile, Marinette continued to lay on the floor in attempt to catch her breath. Why did Alya have to be so strong and know all of her weaknesses?

"A-ha!" Alya yelled. "Though may I ask why you are still staring at this number instead of using it to call him?"

"I can't just call him out of the blue!" Marinette shrieked, finally sitting up again.

"Ugh, duh! That's exactly what he gave you his number for!"

"Alya! No!" Marinette screamed and propelled herself upwards as she watched her best friend grab hold of her phone, easily unlock it and then dial in Luka's number.

Alya was able to easily hold Marinette back though, pressing the palm of her hand against Marinette's forehead while holding the phone to her ear. She then smirked and handed Marinette her phone back.

"It's calling," she giggled.

Marinette gulped, freezing in fear as she stared down at her phone like it was a bomb that was about to explode. Alya rolled her eyes before moving Marinette's arm up for her and pressed the phone against her ear. In that moment, Marinette felt like she had stopped breathing. The dial tone echoed around in her mind, and her heart stopped as a husky voice greeted her from the other end.

"Hello?"

Marinette remained silent, her words trapped in her throat.

"Hello?" Luka questioned again in confusion this time.

Marinette's eyes darted to Alya in panic, who merely made a hurry up motion with her hand. She gulped, the phone nearly slipping out of her grip from all of the sweat that had developed on the palm of her hand.

"Ummm…hi – errr – Luka. It's me," Marinette babbled.

Alya facepalmed.

Luka chuckled. "Hello, _me_."

 _Oh no! She was blowing it! She was being too weird._

Marinette forced a laugh. "M-Marinette."

Luka chuckled again. "I know. So what's up?"

"I…errr…I…" Marinette hopelessly stammered. Why on earth did Alya have to do this to her?!

Luka waited patiently on the other end.

"I…I was wondering…if…maybe…" Marinette squeaked out pathetically. "If maybe…you wanted to…I dunno…hang out?"

 _No! That sounded too weird and desperate!_

"Maybe I could treat you to a…a milkshake. As…y'know…a thank you gesture for helping me out yesterday," Marinette finally offered.

 _Okay, hopefully that didn't sound too bad. Just two friends having a milkshake._ But she still hoped that Luka wouldn't think she was being weird. Oh no… _what if Luka didn't like milkshakes? What if he was a vegan and she had just been really insensitive? She should have offered to take him out for a smoothie instead!_

"Yeah…I'd like that." Luka's voice was so happy and content sounding.

"Errrr, great!" Marinette could feel her cheeks turning pink, surprised that he seemed really happy at the idea. "H-how does tomorrow evening sound?"

"Sounds great. I'll pick you up at five?"

"Yeah…sure…" Marinette replied dreamily, suddenly feeling like she was floating on a soft cloud. She was barely even registering the sight of Alya beaming at her as her eyes became hooded, and her heart began beating rapidly in her chest, pumping a pleasant, tingly feeling around her body.

"See you then," Luka said happily.

"Yeah…" Marinette replied dreamily again as Luka hung up. "See you then."

However, it wasn't long before Alya started squealing, and Marinette's eyes snapped fully open, the realisation crashing down on her like a ton of bricks.

"What did I just do?"

* * *

 **Phew! I'm glad I finally feel like the story is moving forward. It wasn't supposed to take this long to set everything up; it was supposed to take two or three chapters at the most. Now here we are on chapter eight already. My stories have a tendency to explode if I'm not careful. But anyway, once again, I am sorry that this chapter took so long, but my update schedule should now definitely be getting back to normal, which means new updates every Monday. In the meantime, feel free to let me know what you thought of this chapter! I'll see you guys soon!**


	9. Totally Not A Date

**I know right? I'm suddenly back from the dead after two months. I really am sorry about that. It wasn't meant to happen, but all of a sudden so much of my life changed at once. I now have a new job, and all the training and studying for it has been taking up a lot of my time, and I've just been generally stressed with real life stuff. So I'm sorry to the people who were worried. If I ever vanish or you're wondering where I am or when the next update might be, you can always check my Twitter and my blog as I'm usually always active on there.**

 **Thank you so much for your patience and for all of your awesome reviews! It really means a lot to me, and I hope that I still have an audience after all this time. Anyway, without further ado, let's get back into the story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Totally Not A Date**

"You've just asked Luka out on a date, that's what you have done!" Alya yelled excitedly before dramatically feigning being upset. "My baby girl is growing up so fast!"

Marinette could barely process the words that had just come out of her best friend's mouth. All of a sudden, it felt like she was in the wrong universe, having been badly copy and pasted into a parallel world. A parallel world where Marinette had found herself successfully asking Luka to hang out with her on the first try instead of all the failed attempts she had made to do the same with Adrien. It wasn't computing with her brain. Luka…he actually wanted to hang out with her… _her…_ Marinette Dupain-Cheng!

At that thought, her knees began to wobble beneath her, and she felt like she was on the verge of collapse. Her heart soared out of her chest and exploded in the sky in the most beautiful display of fireworks. However, while her heart was high in the sky, the rest of her body began to sink deep down into the earth.

Was she doing the right thing?

What even _was_ she doing?

Marinette had never felt confusion like this before. It almost felt like life was now pulling her in two separate directions while she was stuck in the middle, being torn in half by the powerful force. But why should she feel this way? She wasn't doing anything huge or anything wrong. She was just treating Luka to a milkshake as a thank you for helping her yesterday. It wasn't like it was a date or anything.

"It's not a date!" Marinette finally snapped as she blinked back into reality again.

"It so totally is a date!" Alya continued to playfully tease.

"It so totally is not a date!"

Alya rolled her eyes. "You can lie to me and yourself as much as you want, girl, but I know that you have feelings for the dreamy guitar boy."

"Hey, don't call him that," Marinette defended.

At that remark, Alya smiled smugly. "I rest my case."

"Gah!" Marinette cried out in frustration, gripping her hair as she began pacing the room.

"Hey, relax, girl, it's no big deal," Alya began trying to comfort her.

"It's not a date!" Marinette repeated again, beginning to sound even more erratic. "What if Luka thinks it's a date? What if he's got the wrong end of the stick? What if I hurt his feelings? Oh no, what am I doing? I can't do this!"

"Snap it out of it, Marinette!" Alya grabbed hold of Marinette's arms and began shaking her slightly, her face growing serious as she maintained eye contact with her. "You're thinking way too hard about this and getting yourself into a state – as per usual."

Marinette took a deep breath. "You're right."

"Of course I am," Alya playfully boasted, "I know you too well."

Marinette glanced down miserably, and she heard Alya gasp before switching back to her comforting best friend mode again.

"It's going to be okay, girl," Alya began reassuring, "you never specified that it was a date, so I'm sure Luka knows and isn't assuming anything. He's a smart and kind guy, and there's no need to put so much pressure on yourself. It's just a milkshake between two friends."

"You're right – again," Marinette sighed out.

"Of course that could always lead to something more though."

"WHAT?!"

"Relax, Marinette, I was only teasing," Alya laughed upon seeing the terrified look on her best friend's face. "Though it's still true."

"ALYA!"

"It's time to face facts, girl." Alya became serious again. "It's obvious that you have feelings for him, and don't deny it because I've seen the way you look and behave around him. And I think that he feels something for you too."

"Really?" Marinette asked dreamily before shaking her head. "No! That's ridiculous."

"I'm being serious!" Alya tried to get her to listen. "What's so bad about admitting that there's something there?"

"Because there isn't," Marinette huffed, folding her arms across her chest like a grumpy child before pouting as she stared out of her bedroom window.

Deep down, Marinette knew that Alya was right. No matter how much her brain tried to argue with her heart, it didn't stop that fact from being true. Marinette knew that it couldn't or shouldn't be possible, but she did enjoy being around Luka, and she felt something more for him than friendship. Whether or not that was love, Marinette wasn't sure. But it was like Alya had told her all those months ago when they had first met Luka: he sent her compass crazy.

Marinette had always been so sure of her direction. So confident about what she wanted out of life. She loved Adrien, that much she had always been certain about over the course of this past year. She thought that it was destiny. That they were made for each other. That one day, they would eventually be together.

But Marinette was now learning that not everything in life went to plan. She couldn't control the world around her, and that other people's decisions and feelings might not correspond with her own. It was up to her to adapt to the new paths that she had been sent down. That was the only way that she was ever going to be happy.

Was rushing down the new path laid out for her such a good idea though? Especially when Marinette had no idea of what lay ahead? It was both thrilling yet terrifying at the same time. It filled Marinette with an overpowering sense of curiosity. But fear continued to hold her back. What if this new path was worse than the old one? What if Marinette was only going to get hurt again? That worry alone was enough to freeze her in place, leaving her permanently stuck at the biggest crossroad of her life so far.

The sound of Alya sighing snapped her back out of her deep thoughts.

"I know that you really loved Adrien," Alya began to gently explain, "but he's interested in someone else. It's a fact that we can't change and we have to respect his feelings. The best thing that you can do is to move on."

Marinette was beginning to feel tears burning behind her eyes, desperate to burst free like a powerful torrent behind a floodgate. It took everything in Marinette's power to not allow them to gush free, because if she started crying now, she knew she would probably never stop. The mere sound of Adrien's name was enough for her already broken heart to begin painfully pulsating. She wasn't sure if she was ready. She wasn't sure if she could focus on anything else right now other than the pain.

"But what if I can't?" Marinette's voice cracked with emotion as she spoke, barely reaching a volume above a whisper.

Alya's face dropped in sympathy before she pulled Marinette into a tight embrace. Marinette buried her face into her best friend's shoulders, once again having to fight off the urge to burst into endless tears. At least she wasn't alone. At least she had Alya by her side to help her. Marinette wasn't sure she would have made it through this day without her.

"You will," Alya comforted. "I know it feels like the end of the world now, but you will get through this. No matter what happens, you'll always have me."

"Thanks, Alya." Marinette managed a small smile as they both pulled apart.

"Hey, what are best friends for?"

"I really would be lost without you," Marinette chuckled.

Alya smiled smugly again. "I know."

"Hey!" Marinette playfully shoved Alya as they both burst into a fit of giggles.

However, Marinette still felt like her chest was being ripped in two. Her laughter felt almost hollow. She felt like it was wrong to laugh. Her broken heart was begging for her to be miserable and wallow around while it yearned for what she could never have. It made Marinette feel like she was climbing up a sheer cliff-face, battling against the forces of gravity as she tried to pull herself up to safety. Each centimetre took its toll, and she was beginning to feel like it was getting harder and harder to cling on. The temptation to just let go and let her arms rest was overwhelming. But if she did that, she would fall backwards into oblivion. The sensation left her feeling absolutely exhausted.

"But seriously, if you say it's not a date, then I believe you." Alya turned serious again.

Marinette sighed in relief.

"Though I still believe that there's something there between the two of you."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Alright, you've made your point."

"Sorry," Alya chuckled. "I only have my girl's best interests at heart."

"I know." Marinette smiled up at her again. "Luka's just a friend, and that's probably all he will ever see me as."

Alya facepalmed. "Seriously, Marinette, if that guy carried anymore of a bigger torch for you, he'd practically be a lighthouse."

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you!" Alya shrieked as she tried to explain. "Every time he's on stage performing, I see him glancing down at you. He always smiles as soon as he sees you, and he always comes out of his room when we're over at Juleka's house, which is not like him since he's always lost in his music. When I went to borrow a textbook off Juleka last week, I could see the look of disappointment on his face when he saw that you weren't with me."

Marinette's cheeks exploded into a brilliant red, and her heart skipped a beat. A huge part of her wanted to believe that none of that was true and that Alya was just exaggerated to help set Marinette up with someone knew. But at the same time, the simple idea that Luka might possibly feel that way about her once again gave her a weightless feeling. It felt like she was floating up into the clouds, ascending into a heaven of happiness and love.

She shook her head again, quickly dispersing those thoughts.

"I doubt that's true, and even if it is, that just gives me even more of a reason to cancel," Marinette said as she stared down at her phone. Her fingers hesitated over the screen as if some powerful force was holding her back, preventing her from calling him and backing out of their plans.

"What?! You can't do that!" Alya yelled.

"Why not?" Marinette demanded, growing irrational again. "If he does have these feelings for me like you said, then wouldn't I just be leading him on?"

"Ugh!" Alya groaned. "Seriously, girl, you're going to make me go prematurely grey!"

"But it's the truth!" Marinette tried to defend herself.

"Look," Alya said before taking a deep breath and continuing, "Luka knows that it's not a date tomorrow, and everything is going to be fine. Just enjoy spending some time with him, because I know that you enjoy being around him. You're just two friends hanging out. If you stop overthinking, then I'll stop teasing you about it. Deal?"

Alya held out her hand, and Marinette stared down at it before slowly grabbing hold of it with her own.

"Deal," Marinette agreed as they both shook hands.

They both stood in silence for a few seconds before Marinette began to explain herself a bit more.

"I'm sorry for sounding all crazy. It's just…Adrien showing up yesterday afternoon didn't help things."

"He did what?" Alya responded, her mouth hanging open in shock.

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows, so certain that Alya knew about the whole thing. "Adrien…he came to see me a few hours later. I figured you and Nino had sent him or something?"

"No." Alya still sounded shocked. "He left in a little bit of a hurry, claiming that his dad had something planned for him or something. Now that you mention it, he was pretty concerned about you after you left."

"As if I needed any more confusion," Marinette whined, her throat closing up as she collapsed back down into her desk chair, wishing that the ground could just swallow her up.

"I'm sure he was just trying to be nice," Alya explained, though judging by the tone of her voice, she didn't sound too convinced herself.

"He probably was. He's such a kind and caring person after all," Marinette replied sadly as she stared at the collection of photos on her wall that she still had hanging up there.

Adrien looked so dreamy and amazing in all of them. Sometimes Marinette used to stare at them for hours, fantasising about a life together. A life that would never exist now. Who knows, maybe soon Adrien and Kagami would get together, and they would be on the front page of every magazine, the children of two powerful and influential people getting together being the talk of all of Paris. And Marinette would have to grin and bear it through all of that. She would have to be happy for him, while on the inside, it felt like she was being tortured.

"He does care about you, Marinette," Alya tried to reassure her.

"Just not in the way I wanted him to," Marinette sadly finished Alya's sentence.

"It just feels like there's something weird about this whole thing." Alya began to ponder.

"Oh please don't, Alya, I don't want any false hope," Marinette pleaded.

Alya sighed. "You're right, sorry."

"Promise me you won't go probing Adrien? I mean it, Alya."

"Alright, alright, I promise." She moved her hands behind her back.

"I've had enough drama and confusion to last me a life time," Marinette sighed out.

"Chin up, girl, it'll get better." Alya leaned down to give Marinette a quick hug. "I'm gonna go now as Nino and I are going to see a movie later. But I can always cancel if you want me to stay? Or you could even come with us? A distraction might do you some good."

"No, thank you," Marinette declined as politely as possible. She really didn't feel like being a third wheel tonight, dealing with Nino and Alya being all lovey-dovey while she had no one. But she didn't want to spoil things for them either by selfishly wanting Alya to stay with her. She needed some alone time to try and wrap her head around things.

"Are you sure?" Alya didn't sound convinced.

"I'll be fine, you go and have fun," Marinette encouraged, trying her best to plaster a convincing smile onto her face.

"I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Marinette replied as they gave each other one last final hug before Alya skipped towards Marinette's bedroom door.

She shot Marinette one last reassuring smile before disappearing below, closing the door behind her. The sound of her door closing echoed around the room, reminding Marinette of just how alone she was right now. Her room grew incredibly quiet to a point where she could almost hear her own heartbeat. The pain washed over again like a destructive tsunami, striking Marinette down now that she was all alone.

"Are you sure going out on a date with Luka is wise?" Tikki slowly asked as she came out of hiding.

"It's not a date!" Marinette snapped again before taking a deep breath. "Sorry, Tikki."

"It's okay."

"But it really isn't a date. I just wanted to thank him for how nice he was to me today, that's all. Besides, we're supposed to be friends, yet I hardly ever make time for him."

"Who are you trying to convince, Marinette? Me or yourself?" Tikki questioned.

"W-what? I'm not trying to convince anyone! It's the truth! There's nothing going on between me and Luka!" Marinette shrieked, wondering why everyone kept assuming that she and Luka were going out on a date and that they were obsessively in love with each other. That just simply wasn't the case.

"Marinette, I just want you to be happy." Tikki floated forward, pressing her red little hand against her holder's cheek.

Marinette smiled. "I know. I'm sorry for shouting, I'm just…I'm just so confused and lost right now."

"You'll find a way through this, Marinette, I promise. You have me, you have Alya and Nino, and you also have your parents. You're never alone and we're always here to help you and be there for you."

"Thank you, Tikki. You're the best kwami anybody could ever have." Marinette leaned down to place a gentle kiss on the top of Tikki's head, who giggled and nuzzled against her cheek in response.

"Things always have a funny way of working out. You'll see," Tikki consoled.

"Yeah," Marinette replied absent-mindedly as her eyes once again glanced towards the piece of paper, her gaze meeting the scruffy hand written numbers that stared back at her.

* * *

 **Man, this chapter only took me what? Two months to write? I apologise that this chapter is a little on the shorter and more filler side of things, especially after such a long wait. I'm hoping that now I'm settling into a new routine that things will now finally get back on track. At the moment, there's no specific update day for this story, but I am hoping to update at least once a week. I know, I know, you've heard it all before, and I'm really sorry. I hope that my actions can prove it.**

 **In the meantime, please feel free to let me know your thoughts on this story in review as feedback always helps us writers out a great deal. Remember that you can always leave anonymous comments on my blog if you have any questions or would like to speak to me about something. That way if you don't have a FanFiction, AO3, Twitter or Tumblr account, you can still get in touch with me. I hope you guys are having a good week so far, and I'll see you all again soon.**


	10. Time To Move On

**And I failed to update for another month again. I am trying to get my act together, I promise. I'm sure you all know how annoying real life can be. I wish I could just lock myself away in a room and write forever. But thank you so much for continuing to remain patient with me. I really appreciate it. And thank you so much for all of your amazing reviews! I can't believe I've already reached 100 reviews. Like…what? How did that happen? You guys are the best!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Time To Move On**

 _Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock._

Despite the noise of her fellow classmates, Marinette swore that she could hear the clock ticking, counting down every second until the end of the school day. It was the final period, and the whole day felt like it had gone by painfully slow. She had barely slept last night, but the butterflies in her stomach, alongside the rapid beating of her heart, kept her awake and hyper alert. Time seemed like it was purposefully dragging, just so that it could torture her.

Sighing to herself, Marinette tapped her pencil against her desk, pressing the graphite into the wood as her nerves continued to bubble up inside her. The anxious concoction inside her felt like it was melting everything in its path until Marinette was nothing more than a pile of goo on the bench. If only. At least then she would have an excuse to get out of her hang-out with Luka tonight.

But her heart ached at that thought. It was like Marinette's brain had split in half. On the one hand, she was excited for her meet up with Luka, but on the other, she was absolutely terrified and wanted to do nothing more than wallow around her room, feeling miserable over Adrien.

She could barely bring herself to look him in the eye all day. It was just too embarrassing.

Normally every day she woke up excited to see him, desperate to get to school just so that she could be around him and stare at the back of his head all day, just letting her eyes become lost in the golden locks she desired to one day run her fingers through. At this very moment, her eyes were tempted to drift down, away from the clock, and down towards the boy in front of her. She managed to resist though, the sudden pain in her chest reminding her of why that would be a bad idea.

However, a dark hand waving in front of her face suddenly snapped Marinette out of her inner turmoil.

"Earth to Marinette!" she heard Alya calling to her.

Marinette shook her head before leaning further back. Her eyes focused on her surroundings once again, jarring her back into reality to a point where she almost felt dizzy. Her grip loosened on her pencil before she turned to her left to see Alya staring at her with an amused expression. Nino was staring up at her awkwardly, and she could see Adrien's worried expression out of the corner of her eye. That stung her even more. Why did he have to be so amazing?

"Are you with us?" Alya asked, and Marinette blinked in confusion.

"Umm…yeah?" Marinette tried to reply as nonchalantly as possible, but it came out as rather fake and forced.

"Then what were we just talking about?" Nino tried to joke, though it was obvious he was concerned about her.

"That…ummm…that thing…" Marinette trailed off lamely.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" Adrien's soft voice asked from below her.

"Yes!" Marinette yelled, causing a few people in class to go silent and glance towards her with amused expressions.

Marinette's face instantly turned bright red and felt like it was on fire. Why had she done that? Why had she yelled? Was it even possible to embarrass herself more than she already had done?

"I-I mean yes. Thanks, Adrien," she tried to reply as normally and sweetly as possible, but it once again came out as awkward and almost monotone.

In the process of replying to him, Marinette made the mistake of finally looking at him, and the hurt and confusion in his eyes made her want to slap herself. He hadn't done anything wrong. He was just asking if she was okay, yet she had yelled at him and was treating him as if he had done something horrible to him. Adrien had certainly been acting strange around her all day. He seemed to be acknowledging her existence a lot more in that he kept asking if she was okay along with throwing occasional worried glances her way. It only served to torture Marinette even more.

"Oh, I get it," Alya laughed as she elbowed her best friend, "I think someone is a little nervous about tonight, huh?"

" _Alya_ ," Marinette hissed under her breath.

Alya, however, ignored the warning.

"Don't think I haven't noticed you clock watching, girl."

"I…I don't know what you mean." Marinette played dumb as she continued to try and shoot her best friend warning looks. She didn't want people getting the wrong idea after all. Least of all Adrien. But then again…why should that even matter? But still, this wasn't something Marinette wanted broadcasting everywhere.

"Why? What's going on tonight?" Adrien took an unusual intense interest.

"Marinette's got a date!" Alya proudly proclaimed, watching Adrien's reaction intently.

"A date?!" Nino exclaimed happily in surprise.

"That's great, Marinette!" Adrien replied cheerfully, making Marinette sink into her seat even more.

"I'm so glad you've quickly moved on from – ouch!" Nino yelped as he was cut off by Alya throwing a pencil at him.

Marinette cringed even more, sinking so much into her seat that she was almost practically laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She wanted to strangle Alya so bad right now. What exactly was she playing at? Alya knew very well that it wasn't a date, so why was she making things awkward like this? If anything, it just made Marinette feel even worse. Adrien's cheerful reply was yet another stab in the heart. He was happy for her. Because he had Kagami. He had never been interested in her.

"So who's the lucky guy?" Nino asked once he had gotten over Alya's sudden pencil assault.

"Luka!" Alya answered for her excitedly.

"L-Luka?" Adrien gasped, his eyes widening.

"It's about time," Nino chuckled, "that dude has clearly had a crush on you for a while now."

"He has not!" Marinette protested. "And it isn't even a date!"

"So, is it a date or not?" Nino began looking confused.

"No!"

"Yes!"

Marinette and Alya both answered at the same time.

"We're just two friends going out for a milkshake. That's all. It's no big deal," Marinette explained, shooting another glare at Alya, still not understanding what she was playing at.

"Says the girl who turned into mush when she was on the phone with him." Alya rolled her eyes.

"I did not turn to mush!"

" _Oh, Luka! How does tomorrow sound, Luka?_ " Alya teased, putting on an exaggerated dreamy voice.

"I did not sound like that!" Marinette growled. "If you don't believe me, fine. See if I care."

"Chillax, girl, I was only teasing." Alya placed a hand on her shoulder, and Marinette relaxed slightly, though still not appreciating being embarrassed like that.

She didn't sound like that when she was on the phone to Luka. Did she?

"So…when did this happen?" Adrien asked timidly.

All Marinette could do was stare at him with wide eyes, unable to answer.

"Last night!" Alya answered for her, growing even more excited. "Luka gave Marinette his number at the park the other day, and she finally called him."

Marinette could feel her face heating up again at the memories. She bit her lip and looked down awkwardly, letting stray strands of hair cover her face. Alya was almost making it sound like she was desperate. And she still wanted to know what her game was with telling Adrien and Nino it was a date when she knew very well that wasn't the case. She was simply hanging out with Luka to thank him for being so kind to her, and because she felt like he was a good friend and that they needed to hang out more. That was all. There was nothing else to it. Nope. Nothing. Nada.

"Oh…wow…that's great, Marinette," Adrien sounded unsure as he replied. "I hope that you have a great time."

"Thanks, Adrien," Marinette managed to force herself to reply. She even briefly managed to shoot him a small smile, though no doubt it appeared to be more of a sad smile than a happy one.

It really didn't matter to him. She was nothing more than a friend to him. Today had been even more of an eye opener as to exactly how Adrien felt towards her. How could she have been so blind? How could she have ever deluded herself with the idea that he might like her back? It was a good job that Kagami didn't go to the same school as them, as seeing them together would have made things extra painful. Kagami was so lucky.

Before the green eyed monster could ravage her, Marinette forced herself to take a deep breath and glance back at the clock again. Only one minute and fifty seconds to go before the final bell rang. Then she could make her way towards the milk bar she had agreed to meet Luka at. This was going to be the longest one minute and forty-eight seconds of her life.

 _Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock._

She could vaguely sense Alya and Nino smirking and sniggering at her behaviour. She didn't even dare to bring herself to try and figure out what Adrien was doing right now. Because it shouldn't matter to her. And thinking about him was only going to hurt her even more. Today was supposed to be about herself. Just her and Luka.

The sound of that thought in her head caused Marinette's cheeks to heat up and her stomach to do an excited flip. Her and Luka. It had a nice ring to it. It made her feel all warm, happy and safe. It calmed her nerves down for a brief moment as she imagined them together, laughing and talking about anything and everything. Maybe they would even listen to some Jagged Stone together. Maybe he would play another song for her on his guitar. Marinette would definitely like that. His music was always so soothing to her. She could already hear the beautiful notes filling the air right now…

 _Riiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnggggg!_

The sudden sound of the bell startled her, snapping her out of her peaceful and happy daydreams. The classroom erupted into even more loud noise as everyone stood up and began packing their things away. Meanwhile, all Marinette could do was sit there and stare down at her desk, suddenly unable to move. Her excitement vanished, being replaced once again by never ending anxieties over what was coming next.

She couldn't do this.

She was probably going to be miserable company.

Luka was probably going to get sick of her.

"Come on, Marinette, school's over. You've been dying for that bell to ring all day," Alya urged as she finished packing her things away.

Marinette couldn't bring herself to answer as she remained frozen in place. Nino and Adrien were already heading out the door, with Adrien shooting her one last worried glance. That was all it took for Marinette to lose all of her nerve. Her eyes burned with tears, and her throat began to close up and suffocate her. This was all too much. She couldn't cope.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Alya asked gently, quickly wrapping her arms around her best friend's shoulders.

"I can't go. I can't do this."

"What? Is this because of me teasing you earlier? Aww, Marinette, I was only kidding around, I'm sorry. I didn't meant to upset you," Alya apologised.

"It's not that," Marinette sighed as her voice continued to quiver, and tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Come on, let's leave before Miss Bustier sees," Alya urged again, quickly packing Marinette's things away for her before grabbing hold of her hand and pulling her out of the classroom.

School was now pretty quiet as most people had already dashed home after a long, arduous Monday. Only a few students stuck around, some of them heading to after school clubs or heading to the library to get some work done. Luckily, Adrien was one of those people who hadn't stuck around. Not that his father would have let him anyway. Marinette just couldn't bear the thought of him seeing her like this. Especially after everything that had already happened.

Alya began to pull Marinette towards one of the bathrooms, and finally Marinette didn't have to worry about hiding her face anymore. The rest of her strength was sapped away as she collapsed onto her best friend's shoulders, grateful that she had someone there for her in that moment. As much as she wanted to be alone right now, she also felt like she needed a huge hug as if she needed holding together. She felt silly and pathetic, and that only served to make Marinette feel even worse.

"I'm sorry, I'm being stupid." Marinette sniffed as she pulled back slightly.

"Well it would help if you would tell me what's going on in that head of yours," Alya tried to playfully joke as she tapped Marinette on the forehead. Though she wasn't able to completely hide her concern.

"I'm just…I'm so confused," Marinette admitted. "Seeing Adrien today…the concern he showed for me, only to then be happy I have a date…I don't know what to make of his behaviour."

"See, that's why I was teasing you like I was," Alya began to explain, "I wanted to see his reaction and try and figure out how he really felt. Because I'm telling ya, there's something fishy going on here, and I'm going to investigate it."

"Oh, Alya, please don't. You promised," Marinette reminded her as she did her best to wipe her cheeks free of tears and mascara stains.

"Something tells me model boy is jealous," Alya carried on.

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!" Marinette began to shriek. "I can't take this! I feel like I'm going crazy! I'm better off just accepting that Adrien doesn't like me like that. At least then I can come to terms with things rather than chasing an unreachable dream just because it showed a vague hint of possibility. I just don't know if my heart could take much more of it."

"Marinette…I'm sorry…"

The two girls stood in silence for a few moments while Marinette tried to pull herself together. Her mind was spinning with dizzying thoughts and emotions. If this was what Adrien did to her, then how could it be healthy for her to chase after him like she had been doing? She was still devastated, sure, but she didn't want to start playing stupid games like Alya had clearly been doing back in class. It would only cause her more pain and misery.

"I'm not going to date Luka just to try and see if I can make Adrien jealous," Marinette sighed out. "In fact, I'm not going to try and date Luka at all. I'm not interested in that right now, and I don't want to put myself through that kind of pain again. Luka is a friend, and that's all he's ever going to be. And he has been an amazing friend to me. I don't want to sacrifice or jeopardise that like I have with Adrien. Because I don't think I could cope with that again."

Alya bit her lip before nodding in understanding.

"It's…" Marinette took a deep breath. "It's time that I moved on."

Alya smiled softly at her. "You know I'll support you no matter what."

"Thanks, Alya." Marinette finally managed to smile back as they both pulled each other into a tight embrace.

However, it wasn't long before Alya pulled away again.

"You still gonna back out of seeing Luka tonight?"

Marinette stared down at the floor miserable. "I don't know."

"Well, I don't think you should," Alya offered her opinion. "You could do with a good distraction rather than pining after Adrien all evening. I know you said you wanted to move on, but you and I both know that it isn't going to be that easy. Besides, you said so yourself that Luka was really nice to you, so would it really be fair to bail on him? You deserve this, girl."

Marinette chewed on her lip and thought for a moment. She instantly knew that Alya was right, but the nervous and cowardly side of her continued to fight against that fact. The temptation to head home right now and burry herself under layers of blankets was too strong. But Marinette had to be stronger. She deserved this. She shouldn't waste time pining after Adrien because that wasn't going to change things. She needed a distraction. She needed to just relax and have some fun. And Luka was always the perfect person to help her with that.

"You're right." Marinette forced a determined smile.

"Aren't I always?" Alya jokingly bragged before turning serious again. "However, before you show up, we should probably fix your face."

Marinette gasped, realising how much of a mess she must look right now. She already knew that some of her mascara had probably leaked down onto her cheeks, and no doubt there were huge bruises under her eyes. She was also willing to bet that her eyes were all puffy and bloodshot. Overall, she probably looked disgusting right now. Not exactly ideal for a da – err – meet up with a friend.

"Don't worry, Alya to the rescue once again," she laughed.

"Forget Ladybug," Marinette chuckled, "you're the best superhero in Paris."

Alya rolled her eyes before she started rummaging through her bag for her make-up supplies. She also grabbed some tissue from the dispensers and went to work on cleaning Marinette's face up. This simple act was already starting to make Marinette feel better. She felt refreshed and rejuvenated, almost like she had been re-born. Maybe she had. It was time for a change, and with the final stroke of Alya's eyeliner pen, Marinette felt like she was ready and complete.

She could do this!

The new and improved Marinette was ready to take on the world!

* * *

 **This chapter was a little on the short side again, but this just seemed like the perfect place to end it. I was going to include some more, but the added pieces felt clumsier, and like they more belonged in the next chapter, which incidentally, I'm super excited to write! All the cute fluff will be coming your way, guys, so watch out! Will her "date" with Luka go as planned? And what exactly is going on with Adrien? Let me know your thoughts, and I'll see you again soon!**


	11. Attempting To Forget

**I'm back from the dead – again. So much for getting my act together like I said in the last chapter. I'm so sorry, guys. Work has kept me super busy, and I've needed to study for my exams and training, and I've also been in and out of hospital lately due to some health issues, so that was pretty stressful and scary. But I'm fine, and thank you to those who messaged me to see if I was okay. That was really sweet of you. Thank you all so much for being patient with me, and for all of your awesome reviews. So without further ado, let's get on with the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Attempting To Forget**

Just like you would expect, all of Marinette's bravado suddenly vanished the minute she turned the corner and spotted the milkshake bar that she had agreed to meet Luka at. She froze mid-step, unable to walk further forward, probably looking like a complete weird dork in the process. But in that moment, all she could think about how nervous she was. It was like an elastic band had been tied around her waist and was now straining to pull her back.

There was no need to be so nervous though. It was just hanging out with a friend, right? Marinette never felt like this when she was meeting up with any of her other friends. But this time, for some reason, her broken heart now felt like it was made of lead, weighing her down and making her feel like she was going to collapse under its intense mass at any second.

"What are you doing, Marinette?" she heard Tikki whisper to her from inside her handbag.

"I… I can't do this!" Marinette suddenly shrieked, darting back around to hide behind the building. She yelped as she caught sight of the people at the bus stop across the street giving her strange looks before quickly taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down.

"What happened to the Marinette who deserved to have some fun with a friend?" Tikki inquired, making sure to keep herself well-hidden still.

Marinette's breathing hitched. "I… I don't know… I just panicked!"

She could hear Tikki sighing to herself. "Why is seeing Luka such a big deal?"

"Because… because I…" Marinette's cheeks flushed bright pink. "I don't know! Because I hardly know him? Because he's older than me? Because I made a total fool of myself in front of him last time?"

"You're thinking way too hard about this, Marinette," Tikki replied, trying to calm her holder down.

Marinette took another deep breath. "You're right, Tikki!" She stood up straighter.

"Just go in there and have some fun!" Tikki further encouraged.

"Yeah! This is the new me! I'm going to hang out with my friend! I don't need Adrien!" Marinette threw both of her fists in the air, looking and reaching towards the sky with her new-found confidence again. However, when she looked back down again, everyone on the street had begun staring at her again, this time making Marinette's face turn a brilliant shade of red.

Feeling awkward and embarrassed, Marinette tried to laugh it off before quickly dashing around the corner again, out of sight of the confused and even slightly concerned pedestrians. She slammed her back against the wall and released a breath she didn't even realise she had been holding in. So far the new her was currently just as, if not more, humiliating and awkward than the old her. She needed to pull this back. Marinette was mature and confident now. No longer was she going to act weird and humiliate herself in front of people – though more accurately – boys that she liked.

But Luka was just a friend. He wasn't Adrien. She could do this!

With a determined expression, Marinette pushed herself away from the wall and crossed the road, finally approaching the milkshake bar. Luckily, the place looked like it was quite quiet despite the after school hours. Marinette found herself hesitating outside before she peered through the window, looking to see if Luka was already there, her heart thumping erratically in her chest the entire time. She bit her lip as her eyes scanned the room, and she spotted his bright blue hair before she saw anything else. This immediately caused her heart to thud to a halt.

He was sat casually in one of the small tables in the corner, away from everybody else. He appeared to be daydreaming as his bright blue eyes looked far away, completely lost in thought. His chin rested on his hand as his elbow rested on the table. He had a small smile on his face that made Marinette wonder what he could possibly be thinking about. He looked… so dreamy…

Blue eyes met her own, and Marinette nearly lost her balance, managing to stop herself from falling backwards in time, only to awkwardly duck down and out of sight. Marinette squeaked to herself in fright, her face exploding with heat at having been caught red handed staring at him. What on earth must he be thinking of her right now? Had he even noticed? Of course he had! He'd looked right at her! Marinette wanted to smack herself for being so stupid and creepy.

"Marinette?"

"GAH!" Marinette screamed as she fell back onto her butt, her eyes staring up in horror as Luka's concerned ones gazed back down at her.

"L-Luka…" Marinette laughed awkwardly. "W-what brings you here?"

Luka chuckled before holding out his hand for her to take. "You invited me, remember?"

"Oh… Yes. Yes I did." _Ugh, Marinette, could you sound anymore weird?!_

Marinette soon forced herself to stay silent as she stared dumbly at Luka's outstretched hand before offering him a cringe worthy smile and giving him a high five.

Luka laughed. "No, I was trying to help you up," he told her patiently, struggling to contain further fits of laughter.

If it was even possible, Marinette's face felt like it had grown even hotter.

"Oh… right… yeah…" Marinette finally slowly placed her hand in his, the warmth of his skin sending shivers up her arm that travelled straight towards her heart. It almost had her melting into a pile of goo on the spot. His calm aura was enough to begin soothing her already overwhelming embarrassment.

Luka pulled her up off the sidewalk, though he didn't let go of Marinette's hand when he had finished doing so – not that Marinette was complaining. It felt weird, but a good kind of weird. It felt like trying on a new pair of shoes, knowing they were going to look and feel spectacular, but not having properly broken them in yet. His large hand completely engulfed her own, and Marinette couldn't help but stare down at their now intertwined fingers. Their skin blended together like coffee and cream, and once again, Marinette's heart began fluttering in her chest.

There was something more to this moment that Marinette just couldn't quite put her finger on. It felt… almost strangely intimate. Like she had known Luka all of her life. Like their hands were supposed to fit perfectly together. Why was she feeling like this though? What was it about Luka that made him feel so special and make Marinette feel weak at the knees? She had only seen him on a handful of occasions, so it definitely wasn't like they were close or anything. Was it because she had embarrassed herself the first time she had met him? Was that why she felt so awkward around him? But Marinette embarrassed herself in front of everyone…

"What were you doing down there? Why didn't you come straight inside?" Luka asked as he began leading her inside, smiling down at her in curiosity, like she was fascinating puzzle that he was trying to solve.

"Oh – ummm – I dropped an earring!" was all Marinette could think of as a response.

"I see you managed to find it okay," Luka noted as he glanced at both of her ears.

Marinette chuckled but couldn't help but cover her ears with her hair self-consciously. Being a superhero had made her overly paranoid when it came to anyone looking at or talking about her ears. It had her instantly on high alert, though she knew that she had nothing to worry about with Luka. Even so, she still couldn't afford for him to find out the truth. They would both be in so much danger if he did.

"Y-yeah," Marinette stuttered her reply.

"And hey look, we even match." Luka pulled on his own earlobe slightly, showing off his own black earrings.

Marinette giggled in reply at the coincidence of it all. Though Luka's weren't magical – she was pretty sure anyway. She'd been through enough these past few months to know that anything was possible at this point. Her life had been turned upside down lately in so many ways. It actually felt nice being normal again and hanging around a normal friend, not having to worry about the fact she knew he was a superhero sometimes like with Alya and Nino. At least with Luka, she didn't have any added pressure or the feeling like she was inadequate like she sometimes felt around Adrien. At least Luka was also just a friend and not someone she was head-over-heels in love with. Nope. Not at all.

Snapping her out of her thoughts, Luka pulled a chair back for her at the table he had just been sat at moments before. Marinette blushed and smiled at his chivalry before sitting down and pulling herself closer to the table. She could already feel her palms beginning to get slightly sweaty, and her heart was still refusing to calm down.

Luka's kind smile never faded from his face as he sat down opposite her, only a small, round table now separating them, and Marinette could almost feel their legs brushing against each other in the small corner they now had to themselves. Everyone else around them was busy chatting away or browsing through their phones, and it made Marinette feel like she and Luka were in their own private universe, just the two of them together.

Marinette could feel herself finally beginning to relax slightly. She had already totally humiliated herself, but like always, Luka always seemed to be able to see past that. He never called attention to it or looked at her weird. He just accepted her and her weirdness. Marinette wasn't sure whether to feel thrilled or disheartened at that concept. Did it mean that Luka found her endearing in a good way or a bad way? She already knew that he found her funny. But was that a good funny or a bad funny? Funny as in annoying and weird, or funny as in she made him laugh and feel happy?

 _Calm down, Marinette,_ she scolded herself internally again. Tikki was right. She really needed to stop thinking so hard about this whole outing. She was here to relax and to have fun. To forget about Adrien and all of her other problems. Luka had been so kind to her, and here she was, supposed to be returning the favour.

"Soooo…" Marinette dragged out awkwardly after a few seconds of silence.

"Soooo…" Luka repeated before chuckling.

Marinette couldn't help but find his smile and laughter infectious.

"I'm sorry, I've not exactly been blessed with the gift of socialising," Marinette giggled out, despite how much she worried that her awkwardness was annoying Luka. It didn't seem to be, thank goodness. But still, Marinette couldn't help but be paranoid.

"That's okay, me neither," Luka reassured her, crossing his arms before leaning against the table, bringing their faces closer together. "I'm sorry if I'm putting any kind of pressure on you."

"Oh no, you're not!" Marinette quickly replied. "It's just… I've been having a bit of tough time lately."

Luka's blue eyes turned soft. "So I guessed."

Marinette bit her lip and looked away. "I'm sorry for just dumping everything on you like that. That wasn't fair of me. You didn't need to listen to me wailing like that."

"Seriously, don't worry about it, Marinette." Luka smiled at her softly. "I'm just glad that you didn't have to be on your own during that."

Marinette finally looked back up it him properly again and offered him a small smile in return. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. But I'm guessing talking about what happened is the last thing on your mind right now."

Marinette's eyes widened. "Y-yeah. How did you know that?"

Luka laughed again. "Spooky, isn't it? I just find people easy to read… especially you."

"Me? Why?"

"It's all in your eyes and the way you carry yourself," Luka explained. "Though your eyes are always the biggest giveaway. You're a bit of an open book, Marinette."

She couldn't help but smirk to herself at that comment. If only he knew.

But still, his accuracy the few times they had spent time together certainly was spooky. He always seemed to intuitively know exactly what she needed or was thinking at any given moment. Luka certainly was gifted with emotional intelligence. It made Marinette feel a little bit exposed and vulnerable, but at the same time, she was touched that Luka seemed to care about her wellbeing so much. He truly was a kind and wonderful person.

"Yeah, well," Marinette continued, "today is the beginning of the new me."

Luka furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, Marinette began explaining, "I'm tired of being that clumsy open book of a person. I'm tired of getting hurt because of it. I want to be a strong person who knows what she wants and goes out and gets it."

"There's nothing wrong with self-improvement, but you don't have to completely change and reinvent yourself, Marinette," Luka spoke softly. "I like you just the way you are."

Marinette froze at that comment. He… he liked her?

He actually _liked_ her and all of her strange quirks?

"But… I always mess everything up…" Marinette continued to doubt herself.

"No you don't, you're being way too hard on yourself. You've had a setback, and it's normal to second guess yourself every now and again, but don't let it consume you. You're a wonderful girl, Marinette. I could tell that from the very first instant I met you," Luka reassured.

Marinette glanced up at him from beneath her eyelashes. "Even though I behaved like a total dorkasaurus?"

Luka chuckled. "Yes, even though you behaved like a total _dorkasaurus._ "

"Stuttering and spluttering like an idiot." Marinette cringed at the memory.

"So verbal communication isn't your thing. It's not mine either. That's why I always prefer my music."

"But I don't have any musical talent," Marinette sighed out. She wished she could use that as a form of communication and expression just like Luka did.

"But you have lots of other talents. Your design of Jagged Stone's glasses and album cover was amazing," Luka praised, beaming down at her.

"You saw those?" Marinette gasped in shock.

"He's my favourite singer remember? You really managed to capture his style."

"Th-thank you…" Marinette began stuttering again, not sure what to do with all of this praise. She was proud of her work, she always was, but to hear such genuine and heartfelt compliments left her speechless and flustered. It meant so much to her hearing Luka say all of this. It was giving her the confidence boost that she was so desperately needing at the moment.

"I still wish I knew how to play an instrument though. I think it would be really cool," Marinette said as she began daydreaming about how much that might impress Adrien. Maybe they could do a romantic duet together one day.

Marinette quickly shook her head. No. Tonight was an Adrien free evening.

"I could always teach you to play the guitar if you like," Luka offered, looking extremely excited at the idea.

"Seriously?"

"Of course. It's a lot of hard work though. A lot harder than most people think," Luka warned, though it looked like he trusted Marinette not to expect such a thing.

Marinette nodded, beginning to grow excited over the idea herself.

"So do you think it would be something that the new you would enjoy?" Luka half-joked.

Marinette giggled. "Learning the guitar would be perfect for the new me. Actually, I think it would be just what I need."

"Sweet," Luka replied happily, "we can always sort out the details some other time." He glanced towards the bar. "You thirsty?"

Marinette quickly stood up, stopping Luka in his tracks. "No no, it's my treat remember?"

"You don't have to do that," Luka protested, standing up as well.

Marinette smiled. "I insist." She began walking towards the bar.

"And I insist that you don't have to insist." Luka chuckled as he followed her before racing ahead.

Marinette laughed and quickened her pace to match his own, though it was difficult with her much shorter legs and smaller frame. Soon, she was practically running before managing to pass him, sticking her tongue out in the process. Luka continued to laugh and try to overtake her, both of them fighting to get the bar while the only staff member stood behind it, gazing at them in confusion. The both of them slammed their bodies against the bar at the same time.

"And I insist that you don't insist I don't insist," Marinette shot back.

"And I insist that you don't have to insist I don't insist on you not insisting."

"Yeah, well –" Marinette froze and scratched her head. "Okay, now I'm confused."

Luka burst out laughing again.

"Yeah, and so am I," the man behind the bar growled out slightly. "Are you kids gonna order something or what?"

"Seriously, Luka, I'll pay, it's not a problem," Marinette continued to argue.

"I haven't done anything to deserve it though," Luka protested.

Marinette smiled up at him. "Yes you have."

"For crying out loud, it's just a milkshake," the man interjected again.

"I'll tell you what, why don't I pay for yours, and you pay for mine?" Luka suggested.

"Sounds perfect," Marinette giggled in agreement.

"Hallelujah!" came the exaggerated cries of the barman.

"So, what flavour would you like?" Luka asked.

Marinette didn't even have to think about it. Of course she was going to get the flavour she got every single time she treated herself to a milkshake. "Oreo, please."

Luka stared at her.

"What?"

"That's my all-time favourite!" he gasped out.

"Looks like we both have incredible taste then," Marinette replied happily, finally starting to fully relax and enjoy herself. She had never really seen this playful side of Luka before. She kinda liked it. He was super fun to be around, and he was helping her forget all of her current woes.

"Two small Oreo milkshakes, please," Luka asked the man behind the bar.

"Two Oreo milkshakes for the lovebirds," the man repeated as he heaved himself off the bar and towards all of the ingredients laid out on shelves on the wall behind him.

"Oh… No… We're… We're not dating… " both Marinette and Luka stuttered out at the same time.

The man rolled his eyes. "Could've fooled me."

Marinette blushed and quickly made her way back to her seat, hiding her face in her hair as she did so. Luka remained at the bar waiting for their drinks while watching Marinette with a worried expression, though she refused to meet his gaze. Why did that man have to make such a comment? Why couldn't a guy and a girl hang out without there being something more to it? It just further reminded her of Adrien, and rubbed salt into the wounds all over again. She had been having so much fun, and now the reminder of love and relationships had probably made her ruin things. Today was supposed to be about Luka, and her thanking him for what he had done for her, but instead, here she was again. Pining after a boy she knew could never be hers. Embarrassing herself as always. Obviously the new Marinette wasn't quite ready to bloom yet. Right now, she had once again closed in on herself, hiding from the wind and rain that raged around her. Her delicate petals already becoming damaged before having the chance to show off their beauty.

"Is everything okay, Marinette?" Luka's sweet and calm voice asked, gently placing a milkshake down in front of her. "Did that man make you uncomfortable?"

Marinette finally looked back up, wiping away the tears that had begun to form in her eyes before Luka could realise and see. "No, it's okay."

"Did I make you uncomfortable?" Luka further probed, growing more and more concerned.

"No! Definitely not," Marinette quickly reassured him. "It's just… I guess being reminded of relationships right now after everything got to me a little bit."

"I understand," Luka comforted, slowly taking the seat next to her this time. "But you're fine being here with me, right?"

Marinette smiled up at him, shuffling herself closer to him. "Of course. This is the most fun I've had in a while, and I'm so grateful for everything you've been doing for me. I know we don't know each other that well but… I really like spending time with you."

Luka returned her smile. "I really like spending time with you too."

However, before they could say anything else, the whole room seemed to suddenly vibrate. Both of them looked around in confusion, wondering if it had all just been in their imagination. But soon there was no denying it as a low rumble seemed to be echoing from the distance. That's when everyone's phones vibrated and rumbled at the exact same time, the familiar red message plastered across all of their screens: akuma alert.

 _Seriously?!_

* * *

 **I hope that my writing wasn't too rusty in this chapter. It's been a while, and man, I have missed it so much. Screw real life. I just want to write all day long. I've also badly injured one of my fingers (I know, it's stupid), so here's hoping that it hasn't affected my typing too much. Here's hoping that now my exams and doctor visits are over, I can fully concentrate on writing again. But then again, you guys probably take every time I say that with a pinch of salt now. I'm really sorry. Anyway, feel free to let me know your opinions of the story so far, and I'll see you all again soon.**


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